


Tasted

by punk_assnerd



Category: NCT (Band), SEVENTEEN (Band)
Genre: Alternate Universe - College/University, Angst, Angst and Feels, Angst and Hurt/Comfort, Angst with a Happy Ending, Everyone Is Gay, I started this fic around JUNE, I'm Bad At Tagging, I'm Bad At Titles, I've grown up with this fic, M/M, OHMYGOD they were roommates fic, Sexuality Crisis, also more characters on the following updates, gonna update relationships as the story goes, this is all self indulgent
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-09-06
Updated: 2019-11-02
Packaged: 2020-10-10 23:00:11
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 3
Words: 100,835
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/20536031
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/punk_assnerd/pseuds/punk_assnerd
Summary: Wonwoo goes through college thinking it's just gonna be another step in life that he takes without miss.He thought wrong.





	1. Prelims

**Author's Note:**

> Well first of all, I'm dedicating this to three important people who were a massive help and inspiration for this fic. Ky and Sama for rooting for me in doing my part in adding more fics to the Woncheol tag. You girls are amazing and I hope this fic satisfies your thirst for Woncheol for at least a month. And my irl friend that will remain nameless. Thank you for being my inspiration for Cheol's character here and you'll always have a family in me. Always. 
> 
> Well. This fic began like, June and I can say that I have grown up with it. Also this is me satisfying my multi life because there's a lot of insert of all my bias of almost every group I've ever stanned. So think back to all the comebacks since June and if someone made a comeback there. They'll probably pop up here too. 
> 
> Anyways  
Happy reading  
(*´∇｀*)

Wonwoo sits on his bed, stripped of their covers and all, and stares around his room. He took a deep breath. Then he sighs. Then he groans. He presses his palms on his eyes as he flops back down. 

He's really doing it. He's gonna go to a uni six hours away from here. 

Six hours away from his friends.

Six hours away from his mom.

Six hours away from his brother. 

He's gonna be six hours away from home. 

He groans again and this time he hears someone sniggering from the direction of the door. He doesn't have to remove his hands from his face to know who that was.

"I can't believe your mid life crisis starts at the age of twenty." Jungkook says as Wonwoo hears footsteps coming closer and closer until he feels his bed dip on his right. 

"Fuck off." This earns a laugh from the younger and Wonwoo lifted his hands away from his face to glare at his brother.

Jungkook raises his hands in mock surrender and Wonwoo pulled him down by taking a hold of his collar and trapping him in a headlock. They trash around the bed for a minute till Jungkook laughs and Wonwoo eases his hold on Jungkook, his arm still slung around his neck as they both catch their breath.

"As much as I love seeing this brotherly love and affection," Seokmin's voice surprises them from the doorframe, peaking in the room with a smile.

"Jeonghan says if we don't leave now you might as well apply at the McDonald's downtown." Seokmin says.

"That's not a nice thing to say." Wonwoo says, without moving from their position.

"Also I'm pretty sure that's kind of offensive and somewhat degrading somehow." Jungkook adds and Seokmin shrugs.

Wonwoo and Jungkook sat up as Seokmin went back out, saying they'll leave regardless if the car was short of a soon-to-be college student. Jungkook laughs as Wonwoo stood up and started heading out, picking up his duffel bag by the bed as he heads out. Jungkook calls him out before he gets to leave the room and Wonwoo looks back to see Jungkook walking towards him slowly. A second later his brother has his arms closing in on him as Wonwoo stood by, a bit shocked by the sudden show of skinship.

"I'm gonna miss you." Jungkook says, his voice muffled by Wonwoo's shirt as the elder wrapped his arms around Jungkook's shoulder. 

Wonwoo likes to think that he and Jungkook are close. 

Closer than most brothers, at least.

Wonwoo is only a year older but when their mother has to work two shifts a day to provide for the both of them, ten year old Wonwoo took it upon himself to help in the house as much as possible. He helps with the dishes, he does the laundry every Saturday, and most importantly he took care of Jungkook. Of course you're bound to hit a bit of a snag, a couple of speed bumps along the way, but he likes to think that that helped him be who he is now. 

But along the way Jungkook grew up, he realized their situation and one day stood up in front of Wonwoo and said, in his pretend grown up voice, that Wonwoo doesn't need to take care of him anymore. Then he suggest a schedule for doing the dishes and eventually helped in the laundry, which Wonwoo appreciated. But something inside him still kinda wished Jungkook was still waiting for him by the door when he does the laundry, waiting for him so they can play afterwards. He misses the Jungkook that sits on the couch quietly as Wonwoo washes dishes, waiting for his older brother to set the T.V. on. But Jungkook stubbornly grew out of that, exclaiming that he's _ a Jeon. A Jeon will do what has to be done, even if it scares you. _ Their mom laughs heartily at that and Jungkook blushed, smiling bashfully as their mom ruffled his hair. _ Specially if it scares you _. Their mom adds and Wonwoo smiles.

A car honks from the outside and Jungkook pulled away, wiping frantically at his face as he punched his shoulder.

"Go be a smart college nerd. And try not to get anyone pregnant on the first semester." Jungkook jokes and Wonwoo scowls at his brothers humor, rethinking if he should still let him hang out with Jimin and their lot. They made their way out and Wonwoo saw Jeonghan's car outside, Seokmin at the back seat with half his body hanging out of the window as he beams at the two. Jeonghan was at the driver's seat talking about something with their mom and Wonwoo groans, knowing it's the Safety talk. They walk up and Wonwoo and Jungkook snickers when they hear their mom scolds Seokmin to seat properly before going back to Jeonghan and asking him if they packed their underwear and extra underwear. 

"Mom, stop tormenting my friends, please." Wonwoo says and she gives him an unamused look as she placed a hand on her waist. She insisted on putting on a nice sundress when she says goodbye to his son and Wonwoo knew better than to tell her not to. The bright yellow dress flowing beautifully with the with as the wind flirts with her hair. She doesn't look a day over thirty but she's actually closing in on forty this year. Wonwoo smiles as he stops midway to smile at his glaring mother.

"These two practically grew up under my roof, all that pizza pocket, ice cream, birthday cakes, chips, everything! All from me! If anything they're more my kids than they are your friends!" She retorts and Seokmin asked if that an invitation for a slumber party with Jungkook and the others.

"Oh, heavens, no. God knows Wonwoo's the one keeping you lot sedated. Or more like, sane." Jungkook howls in laughter as Wonwoo walks up to their mom and takes hold of her hands. She smiles up at him because somewhere along the line his limbs stretched out longer than hers. Her smile is as beautiful as ever and Wonwoo's heart wrenches when he sees her eyes gloss up.

"Oh, god, no. Mom, don't cry!" Wonwoo laughs as he hugs her tight. She laughs as she pulls Wonwoo away, 

"Hey! Never tell a woman, especially a mother, when she can or can't cry!" She scolds and they all laugh. She locks eyes with Wonwoo as her hands cradles his face. Wonwoo feels himself close to tears. 

"I am so, so proud of you, my boy. My little flower all grown up." Wonwoo feels a tear slip as he laughs. He had voiced out how that nickname isn't suited for a teenager and here is his mom now, calling him little flower again, making him cry like a child.

"Don't stress yourself too much, okay? Live a little. You've already done so much for me so I want you to do something for yourself. Okay? Go to parties! Find someone! Just know your limits, okay?" Wonwoo laughs softly at that and nods to his mom. 

"You've grown up so well. I love you so much." 

"I'll call right around the time you get home, as much as i can, okay? And don't make Jungkook slack off, okay? I know he's your baby but he has to take care of you too." Wonwoo says and hears Jungkook protest from behind. Their mom laughs but nods. He hugs her one last time before he goes around and takes a seat in the passenger's side. 

He sees Jungkook wrap an arm around their mom's shoulder and Wonwoo's mind kept screaming six hours away over and over again. The three of them yells their goodbyes and Jeonghan drives off. Heading for the main road and out of town. Wonwoo looks around as much as he can, soaking up as much as home as he can before he leaves.

"So..." Seokmin drawls out from the back seat. Wonwoo looks at the rearview mirror at him and sees him eyeing the back of their heads, eyes going from Wonwoo to Jeonghan. Wonwoo looks at Jeonghan and sees his I'm totally fine but it's so damn obvious that i'm actually pissed off face. Wonwoo looks up front again and sighs. 

Right. That.

\-----

** _2:47 PM_ **

Wonwoo reads the digital clock on the dashboard again and it reads the same.

There's only one more hour before they get to the campus and so far the car ride has been okay. 

Well, it's 'okay' if you ignore the suffocating, thick tension and the cold, distant posture Jeonghan has as he drives. 

Seokmin had taken it upon himself to make the other two talk to each other and when that unsurprisingly failed, he settled for talking for the three of them instead. He had gushed about how excited he is for Wonwoo in his new university and says he and Jungkook had looked into the website and saw that the campus was really high end. Seokmin ends by saying how proud he is of Wonwoo for getting in with a full scholarship and Wonwoo says his thanks before they let the radio fill the car with background noise as Jeonghan drives on. 

They stopped at a gas station at noon and decided to grab lunch at one of the diners there. Seokmin was excited to eat due to their breakfast-all-day menu and Wonwoo says he'll pay so he can just get what he wants. Jeonghan was silent all throughout lunch, only speaking when Seokmin talks to him and it frustrates Wonwoo so much. After that they fill up the tank and drove off. The car was less tense now but it's still painfully quiet. Wonwoo kept looking back at Seokmin and glancing at Jeonghan, seeing the younger with a deep frown as he looks down on his phone. Wonwoo feels like shit because he's kind of the reason why everything is going like this right now. He looks over at Jeonghan and his face was still stone cold and expressionless. He groans and he saw Jeonghan spare him a glance.

"You know, if you're really so against me going there, why did you even volunteer to drive me there?" Wonwoo says, letting his frustration get the better of him. Jeonghan laughed humorlessly which annoyed Wonwoo even more. 

"I'm serious." Wonwoo says, trying his best to make his voice less annoyed.

"And what? Let you walk to campus? On your own with all of the shit you have? Yeah, sure." Jeonghan says in an amused voice and Wonwoo rolls his eyes.

"Glad to know you still feel something for me. Regardless if it is pity." Wonwoo says before he could stop himself. He can feel Seokmin's heavy gaze at the back of his head like a hand gripping his nape.

"What the hell is that supposed to mean?" Jeonghan asked, not as composed as he was a second ago.

"Hannie, he didn't mean-" "No, Seok." Wonwoo glared at the side of Jeonghan's face as he cut Seokmin off.

"I meant it. I _ mean _ it. You've been pissed and shitty for an entire month, now. The last month that I get to spend at home and i can't even- It didn't even feel like-" _ it didn't even feel like home _. Wonwoo wanted to say. He sighs as he crossed his arms in front of his chest and looked out of the window instead.

"I get why you're pissed and it's fucking fine if you wanna just drop whatever's left of this friendship after you've dropped me off. But Seokmin is getting caught in the middle of it all and I think it's better if you just... if we could at least try to be fucking civil in the hour we have left." Wonwoo says out, trying to calm his breathing as he spoke. 

"What the hell are you talking about? 'What's left of this friendship'? What? You think I'll stop being your friend just cause you chose a different university? I'm pissed, yeah, But did you honestly think I'd stop being your friend just because of this?" Wonwoo let out a laugh because _ really? _

"Oh, so that _ wasn't _ what you've been doing for the past few weeks? 'Cause if that's how you treat your friends after a year in uni then no fucking thanks. I'd rather we aren't friends." Wonwoo glared back at Jeonghan and saw the other barely looking at the road anymore.

"You barely hung out with us since i told the two of you about the news, and when you _ were _ with us you act like everything we do is annoying and that you have better places to be but you just _ had _ to stay with us cause we're _ friends _." Wonwoo huffs out as he turns to look at Jeonghan to glare at him only to see him looking back at him with a slightly shocked face. Wonwoo heaved out a sigh and went back to staring out the window. They're still on the highway with open fields on either side of the road as power lines cast a shadow on their car. 

Wonwoo then felt the car slowed down to a halt at the side of the road and Wonwoo lets his eyes stay glued outside. 

"Wonwoo." Jeonghan's voice was oddly calm and Wonwoo can feel the tears welling up his eyes as he unbuckled his seatbelt and threw the door open, storming out and slamming the door shut. He had his back to their car and he can feel his heart pulsing in his temple and he's so _ so _ close to actually crying when he hears another car door open then close.

"Wonwoo." It was Jeonghan again. Wonwoo rubs a frustrated hand over his face and tries his best to keep the tears at bay. 

"Wonwoo, I didn't... I'm sorry. okay?" Jeonghan says, his voice sounding more dejected than remorseful cause of course he's just apologizing to make Wonwoo stop being dramatic.

"You know what, I don't care. I don't care anymore. Let's just get this over with. But if you do this shit to Seokmin next year if \he\ decides to go to a different campus, it'd be best if you didn't see us at all." Wonwoo turns around and walks past Jeonghan, wiping away a stray tear roughly as he sat back down on his seat. Wonwoo felt Seokmin's hand on his left arm and saw the younger frowning from the rearview mirror. Wonwoo held the younger's hand by reaching his right hand out over his stomach. Seokmin squeezes his hand as Jeonghan went back inside the car. He buckled up, glanced at the two of them for a few seconds before started the engine and drove off.

Wonwoo felt a little off at the beginning of the trip and now he just feels like utter shit.

He's just managed to shoot the last sliver of friendship he has with Jeonghan in the face, he knows Seokmin is gonna be upset about this for a while, and he's gonna have to suffer one more suffocating hour of their tension filled road trip. The only thing grounding him now is Seokmin's thumb running smoothly over his knuckles as their hands are pressed by Wonwoo's waist. 

  
  
  


An hour and a half later and Jeonghan parks his car in front of Wonwoo's dorm, all around them there are guys laughing, talking, carrying boxes inside the rooms. Some with their parents, some with friends, some already smiling by their door frames looking like they've already settled in. Wonwoo voices out that he has to log in and get his key and then went out and looked around. He saw a guy, a tall guy wearing what looks like a red track suit with a board with "Ask me!" written on it and Wonwoo headed straight for him.

"Hey!" The guy says as Wonwoo approaches him. He was tall. Taller than Wonwoo, even, but his smile and vibe screams excited puppy which completely negates the intimidating height.

"Hi." Wonwoo says and the guy held out his hand.

"The name's Johnny." Tall-puppy guy says. Wonwoo shook his hand and introduces himself as well.

"Anything I can help you with?" Tall-puppy, or Johnny, asked and Wonwoo looks around.

"Uhm, do you know where should I sign up? To get my key?" Johnny then smiles wider, Wonwoo was kind of weirded out by how cheerful he is but then Johnny turns around to pick up a bag that's leaning by the wall behind him. He takes out a log book out of the bag and hands it over to Wonwoo.

"I'm gonna need you to fill this up." Johnny then opens the logbook in Wonwoo's hand and flips a few pages before stopping.

"Write your name, contact number, year and course, and room number." Wonwoo looked up and saw him holding up a pen in front of Wonwoo's face and Wonwoo took it. He wrote his name, contact number, _ freshman Architecture student, _ but stops when it comes to the room number. 

"Should I know which room is mine? 'Cause the email didn't mention anything about room arrangements." Johnny smiled and shook his head. He then opened another compartment in the bag and held it out open for Wonwoo. Wonwoo looked at him questioningly and Johnny smiles as he shakes the bag, making rattling noises of clanking metal hitting metal. Wonwoo peers in the bag and looks up at Johnny.

"You have got to be kidding." Wonwoo looks up and Johnny laughs. 

"It's, well, i guess i should say it's tradition? Yeah. They've been doing it like this since forever. By forever I mean since last year, and honestly i just forgot to bring a pouch."

"A pouch?" Wonwoo asks and Johnny kind of smiles shyly.

"Yeah, or you know, a box or something. But yeah." Johnny held up the bag again and Wonwoo laughs before sticking his hand in and picking up the very first key his hand touched. He pulled it out and looked at the written number on it's side.

"7-T?" Wonwoo says questioningly and Johnny smiles.

"That one is upstairs. Second room from the right. Your roommate's cool." Johnny zipped up his bag again and took the log book from Wonwoo to write down his room number. Wonwoo thanked him and went back to the car.

Wonwoo saw Seokmin standing beside the opened driver seat as Jeonghan was seated facing out the door. Wonwoo can't see much but knowing Seokmin, he's probably holding the elder's hands. Comforting him. 

Seokmin looked up as he made his way back to the car and Wonwoo immediately knew he interrupted a conversation.

"Hey! You know which room you got?" Seokmin asked as they made their way at the back of the car. 

"Yup. Upstairs." Wonwoo answered. He can practically see Seokmin walking on eggshells, or rather trying to thread around eggshells and land mines around him. It's honestly so painful to watch. Wonwoo grabs a box and saw Seokmin do the same before following him towards the stairs. Wonwoo wanted to ask what was up with Jeonghan but Wonwoo would rather not put Seokmin through that.

They thread up the stairs, maneuvering around guys walking down and Wonwoo looks down on the parking lot. He looks over at the view in front of their dorm and smiles at the horizon. Wonwoo then reaches over and was about to put the key in the knob when he notices that the door wasn't closed properly. He looked over his shoulder and saw Seokmin with a puzzled look.

"The guy said my roommates here already." Wonwoo says and Seokmin nodded. Wonwoo opened the door and froze at the sight.

  


The dorm itself was okay. Amazing even. It was spacious enough for two grown men to have their own space and the windows are wide. One bed was pushed close to the wall on the other side of the room as one bed had it's foot right by the door. Two closets on the other side of the room, opposite the further bed. And there's a door that leads to the bathroom.

All of those were fine, Wonwoo's seen the pictures on the website.

What made him freeze up was a very lean, still dripping, half naked guy standing in the middle of the room with his back to the door. 

Wonwoo looks at the guy up and down and he can feel himself stare at how fair the guy's skin looked like. Smooth and muscular back, broad and, like he said before, really fair, with just a pair of really tight and really short shorts hugging his, well, shorts area, then it's a whole lot of fair skin on the legs again. Wonwoo only realized he was staring when the guy turned around with a shirt in his hands and a surprised look on his face as he sees two strangers by the door frame.

  


So, in Wonwoo like fashion, he managed to think of the smartest, most socially acceptable introduction.

And then his brain makes him say the exact opposite as his roommate puts on a large sweater.

"Do you work out?" Wonwoo blurts out. He strangled himself mentally as Seokmin nudges him in and as his roommate laughs.

"Yeah, actually." Pale, bodybuilding, probably model, roommate says. Seokmin laughs as well and Wonwoo laughs awkwardly before setting the box in his hand down by the bed.

"Sorry. My name's Wonwoo. Your roommate." Wonwoo reached out a hand and his roommate took his hand in a firm grasp and Wonwoo smiles.

"That's probably the straightest thing i've ever heard you say. Or gayest." Seokmin voices out and Wonwoo glared at him as his roommate pull back his hand and laughs as he ran said hand over his hair. Wonwoo gawkes, again, and hates himself for it. How is this guy so effortlessly cool.

"That's okay, I'm probably gay enough to balance things out." his roommate says, looking over his shoulder to wink at Seokmin. Wonwoo looked back and saw Seokmin smiling bashfully as he smiles. And oh boy, it's his flirty smile.

"Oh no. You are not flirting with a college student. Go get another box, come on." Wonwoo promptly shoves Seokmin out of the room and looks over his shoulder and smiles at his roommate. They were half way down the staircase when Wonwoo pulled at the collar of Seokmin's shirt.

"What was that?" Wonwoo asked and Seokmin groaned.

"Stop being dramatic, _ dad _. I wasn't flirting! I was just being friendly since you're so fucking awkward." Wonwoo rolls his eyes and Seokmin laughs as they made their way back to the car again.

This time Jeonghan was standing by the trunk of the car and he smiled at them as they got closer. No words were exchanged but Seokmin hurriedly grabbed a box and one of Wonwoo's backpacks before hurrying back up. Wonwoo was about to grab a box and make a run for it as well when Jeonghan held onto his wrist before he could even touch a box.

"Okay, I was a dick. I get that. I'm honestly really sorry and I will do _ anything _ to make it up to you." Jeonghan starts and Wonwoo sighs.

"I'm sorry I made you cry, and I'm sorry you felt like that the whole time we hung out, I was just being mopey and frustrated and being my selfish self. But you have to know that i'm with you with this decision okay? I'm so _ so _ damn proud of you for getting here and achieving this and all and I'm so proud to call you one of my best friends." Jeonghan sniffs and Wonwoo belatedly realizes that he's been staring at the boxes in the trunk the whole time. He looked up and saw Jeonghan tearing up, his blond hair shimmering under the afternoon light as he wipes at his eyes gracefully with one hand because that's just how Jeonghan is. He's the composed, poised, pretty, reliable Jeonghan. Wonwoo turns and pulls Jeonghan in for a hug and Jeonghan chokes out a sob.

"Oh God, no. Please don't cry." Wonwoo was laughing softly at that and Jeonghan hit his arm.

"You don't tell a father when he can or can't cry!" Jeonghan mimics Wonwoo's mom. Both of them laugh softly as Wonwoo pulled back. 

"I really am sorry, okay? I've just been dealing with something and i thought i was doing an okay job at hiding it." Jeonghan says and Wownoo can't help but roll his eyes.

"You did. That's what's wrong. We're your best friends, okay? We don't keep things from each other, remember?" Wonwoo thought about how maybe that wasn't the best thing to say right now, seeing as how uncomfortable Jeonghan looked even more. So he turned to grab a box and nudges Jeonghan to do the same.

"Come on. We better get up there quick before Seok jumps my roommate." Wonwoo adds and Jeonghan looks at him confused. 

Wonwoo leads them up the stairs and tried his best not to scowl at Seokmin smiling up at his pretty roommate, sitting on his bed as his roommate leans on the table in between their beds. He cleared his throat and gave Seokmin a pointed look and Seokmin rolled his eyes.

"I'm talking to him about you, okay? Stop looking at me like I'm riding his dick, or something." Seokmin groans. His roomate barks out a laugh as Jeonghan snickers past him and puts a box down on his bed.

"I'm Seungcheol, by the way." His roommate says as he walks towards Wonwoo. 

"Seokmin says you're an architecture student?" Wonwoo gave Seokmin another glance and Seokmin groans. 

"Did you leave me anything I could say to my new roommate?" Seokmin groans again and ignored Wonwoo as Seungcheol and Jeonghan laughs.

"Don't worry, he's just trying to be friendly." Seungcheol defends and Wonwoo scoffed.

"Too friendly, sometimes, if you ask me." Seokmin glared at him and Wonwoo glared back.

"Boys. Let's not do this in front of company." Jeonghan says and Seokmin and Wonwoo both huffed out in frustration as they crossed their arms on their chest.

"Are you guys... brothers?" Seungcheol asks and Wonwoo smiles at him.

"Close. We're friends, but they're like brothers i can't get away from." Wonwoo answered.

"Yeah, I'm Jeonghan by the way. And just so you know, if we find out you so much as make Wonwoo uncomfortable we'll-" "We'll talk about it, peacefully. Like actual adults. Preferably without the death threats." Wonwoo adds and Seungcheol smiles.

"The dad-friend, I presume." Seungcheol held out his hand and Jeonghan took it and shook it once, leveling his face with Seungcheol.

"Yeah and Seokmin is the baby friend. Obviously.' Wonwoo adds. And Seokmin points an accusing finger at Wonwoo as he glares.

"And he's the straight friend." Seokmin says and Jeonghan and Seungcheol snickers at that.

"Are you really?" Seungcheol asks. Wonwoo looked over and saw him look at him with his really round doe eyes and Wonwoo has never seen anyone with eyes as brown as his before. 

Wonwoo shrugs and let's that answer that. There was a tense moment in the room as Seungcheol looks him up and down before looking straight in the eye and smirking.

"That's kind of unfortunate." Seungcheol says and Seokmin laughs. 

"Tell me about it." Jeonghan adds from beside Seungcheol and Seokmin doubles over in fits of giggles on the bed.

"His brother is cooler, though. And gayer." Wonwoo groans as he puts down his box and went out to get the last two bags he had in the car. He hears them laugh as he went out and smiles. If he's Jeonghan and Seokmin approved, then Seungcheol's bound to be cool. Wonwoo grabs his duffel bag and his other backpack before closing the trunk. On his way back up he saw Johnny going down the stairs waving at him.

"Wonwoo! Just the man I'm looking for!" He pulled Wonwoo to the side and Wonwoo saw another guy behind Johnny. He was wearing a green beanie that reminds Wonwoo of the matcha drink Jeonghan likes, he's got a pink headphones around his neck, black coat over what looks like a rainbow tie dyed shirt, black pants and some really bulky sneakers. Wonwoo can't help but stare a second longer than necessary.

"This dude right here is Hansol," Hansol lifted a hand to wave and Wonwoo nodded in response.

"I'm gonna assign a sophomore to tour you two tomorrow before orientation so I thought it'd be nice to introduce you two to each other now." Johnny then explained that he'll have to give their contact number to their tour guide tomorrow and they all dispersed into different ways after Johnny had excused himself.

Wonwoo went up and saw Seokmin unpacking his stuff on the reading table in between the beds and smiles as Seokmin leans back, smiling, as if proud of this achievement. Seungcheol and Jeonghan were still in the middle of the room but now with Jeonghan's phone in Seungcheol's hands as Jeonghan was speaking quietly about something. 

"Hey, are you a freshman, too?" Wonwoo asks. Seungcheol flashes him a smile as he shook his head no.

"Sophomore, I'm a double major. Business Management and Culinary Arts." Seungcheol smiles and Seokmin turns to smile at Seungcheol.

"I've always wanted to take Culinary!" Seokmin admitted. Jeonghan sighs as Wonwoo chuckles.

"You should!" Seungcheol said, like the innocent, gullible, doe eyed guy he is.

"Oh no. The last time Seokmin was left with knives and an open stove he ended up with half his left eyebrow gone along with half of the kitchen." Jeonghan says and Seokmin smiles sheepishly as Seungcheol laughs.

"Both of you are terrible at the kitchen. Remember Seokmin's birthday cake Jeonghan butchered with a mountain of frosting?" Wonwoo says. Jeonghan gave him a glare and Seokmin laughs.

"Maybe I can teach you to cook sometimes, nothing intricate. Just something simple." Seungcheol looks over at Seokmin and Seokmin smiles brightly at that.

"Down boy. You're gonna be miles away from here by this time tomorrow." Wonwoo says and Seungcheol laughs at that. Seokmin turns to give Wonwoo a nasty look before going back to unpacking.

The two of them teamed up with the boxes and an hour later his table was on full display. His books, notebooks and all the school supplies his mom and Jungkook had packed him were arranged neatly on his table. Jeonghan had announced over their shoulder that Seungcheol had helped him book a room to a motel near the area and they'll crash there for the night instead of driving now. Seokmin squeals and Wonwoo smiles as Seokmin drapes himself on his back. Wonwoo decided that he wanted to spend tonight with the two and Seungcheol assures him he'll look after his stuff while he was gone.

Wonwoo packed an overnight bag in his duffel bag and says his goodbye to Seungcheol after Seokmin stutters his goodbye and Jeonghan says goodbye by giving Seungcheol a pointed look. Seungcheol pulled him back by his elbow and asks him if he has his key and Wonwoo nods. After five more minutes of saying goodbye, Wonwoo, Jeonghan, and Seokmin were finally seated in the car with two more hours before their motel reservation. So Seokmin looks up food joints around the area and settled for a food trip before going to their motel. 

Jeonghan drives off with a laugh as Seokmin sings along the now turned up radio. The windows were rolled down and the wind kept dancing around them, flirting with Jeonghan's hair as Seokmin belts out an impressive high note. Wonwoo looks around and smiles to himself.

After his family, this is the one thing he'll miss the most. He sings along with Seokmin which earns him a wide eyed laughter from Jeonghan as Seokmin pats his hands on Wonwoo's shoulders and shakes him enthusiastically as they sing along. Wonwoo has eight hours left to spend with his best friends before he won't see them again for at least four months, so he's going to savor every moment he has right now and soak it up as much as possible.

\-----

Wonwoo dries his hair with his towel one last time before letting it hang at the back of his chair and then plopping face down on his bed. 

  


His second day away from home, he woke up with Seokmin pressed by his side with his arms and legs around him. The three of them went out for breakfast one last time before having to drop off Wonwoo back to their dorms and heading back home. Seokmin tried his best not to cry when saying goodbye, he actually succeeded, in a way.

He finished his goodbyes to Wonwoo without crying. But the second Jeonghan hugged Wonwoo, he broke down sobbing. He kept saying how he'll be left alone without the two of them back home and how he'll die after a month due to being alone and \heartbroken\\. Wonwoo laughs as he and Jeonghan comfort the youngest, explaining to him that he won't actually die. 

An hour of them talking in the car, Seokmin arguing that he really _ could _ die from a broken heart, ended when Seungcheol knocks on the window and tells Wonwoo it's time for their tour. Apparently, Seungcheol will be the one to tour him and Hansol around campus. Seungcheol smiled and said goodbye to a now embarrassed Seokmin and a laughing Jeonghan and went to get Hansol. 

Wonwoo smiled and waved as Jeonghan drives away with Seokmin sticking half of his body out of the window to scream goodbye to Wonwoo. 

And that's that.

He's alone.

Well, not completely. But now he's miles away from everyone he knows, everyone he calls home, and it's a little bit scary and a little exciting. He waited a few more minutes for Seungcheol and Hansol to come by and Seungcheol announces that their tour will officially be their first step into college life. 

Seungcheol walked them around the entire campus. And their campus ground is almost like a whole damn city. By lunch, Hansol was sweating, his white shirt pulled out now from where it was tucked in his cargo pants, as he plops down the cafeteria table. He lies down on one bench and claims it as his own making Wonwoo and Seungcheol snigger as they sit on the bench opposite his. They've gone through almost all the academic buildings and a bit of the commercial ones so Seungcheol decided that their lunch for today was in the cafeteria. They have the entire year to eat out on the various cafes and restos and fast food chains all over the campus, anyways.

An hour later and they're set off to walk again and by the time they pass by a huge open field around mid afternoon Seungcheol laughs and made the two of them rest up before continuing the remaining one fourth of their journey. Hansol voiced out that he was now dead, Wonwoo downs the water bottle Seungcheol handed him in one go, and Hansol marked him as a traitor for drinking all the water that they're meant to share. Hansol then rolls around the grass, his shirt staining a bit but his smile just says he doesn't care one bit. Seungcheol followed suit, lying down and rolling down the grassy slope and Wonwoo laughs when he ended up crushing Hansol under his weight. A few minutes later and Seungcheol basically pulled them up to make their way back to their dorms.

The last hour of walking was not as bad, the afternoon breeze soothing their aching legs and Wonwoo not so subtly stares as the wind flirts with Seungcheol's hair. He notices a leaf stuck on his hair and laughs as the wind tries to blow it away but Seungcheol's hair seems to curl around it. Wonwoo then pulls Seungcheol's shirt from behind to stop him from walking and just straight up pulled Seungcheol's head down so he can get the leaf off. Hansol laughs as Seungcheol thanks Wonwoo and Seungcheol stares at Wonwoo as the elder explained the schedule of the campus gym right by their dorm. They separated ways with Hansol and apparently his room was right under theirs and that he was sharing a room with Johnny. Seungcheol told Hansol about the assembly the next morning and invited him to dinner after an hour. 

Which brings Wonwoo back to the present. He was dressed in a hoodie and jeans, Seungcheol saying that he's gonna go out to eat with his friends so Wonwoo didn't want to look like the loser that he thinks he is. He even ditched his glasses for his contacts and ignored Seungcheol's teasing of him looking cuter with glasses on. 

Wonwoo waits for Seungcheol to finish changing and Wonwoo texts Hansol to kill time. 

** _Me_ **

** _Hey, this is Wonwoo_ **

** _You ready for dinner?_ **

**Hansol**

** _hey man_ **

** _not gonna lie i wanna just lie in bed_ **

** _I have no idea how Seungcheol's not tired im fucking exhausted_ **

** _Me_ **

** _Me too but i'm really hungry please don't abandon me_ **

** _Seungcheol said he's bringing his friends too_ **

**Hansol**

** _Maybe i should abandon you_ **

** _You didn't share earlier_ **

Wonwoo laughs at that and hears Seungcheol turn off the showers

** _Me_ **

** _I'll buy you a bottle of water tomorrow_ **

** _come on_ **

** _respect your elders_ **

**Hansol**

** _Fine_ **

** _I'm coming up _ **

Wonwoo didn't bother replying anymore, deciding to just lie face down on his bed as he hears Seungcheol come out of their bathroom.

"Hansol's on his way up." Wonwoo says. 

"Oh, cool. The guys are gonna love you." Seungcheol says. Wonwoo laughs with his face still pressed on his bed.

"Is this you trying to get me to make friends?" Wonwoo asks. He hears Seungcheol laugh.

"I have no idea what you mean." 

"Yeah, sure. Just tell Jeonghan I already made two friends today. That'll keep him pacified for at least a week." Wonwoo says. He rolls over and spreads his hands on either sides. Making him look like a depressed and underweight starfish on his bed.

"Two?" Seungcheol asks. Wonwoo nodded.

"Yeah. You and Hansol." Wonwoo says. A moment passed and Wonwoo sits up abruptly when he realizes what he just said. He looked up to a half naked Seungcheol smiling down at him.

"So we're friends now, huh?" He teased. Wonwoo can feel his cheeks flush but he rolls his eyes anyways. 

"I'm starting to regret it already." Wonwoo says. Suengcheol pulls a sweater on, it was one of those knitted sweaters with a v-neck and Wonwoo stares at how fair his skin was around his neck and collar bones. Seungcheol then sits on his bed and puts on his shoes when someone knocks on their door. Wonwoo opens the door and saw Hansol outside.

Hansol smiles at him. It was almost creepy how he smiles.

"So, about that water." Hansol starts. Wonwoo rolls his eyes as he smiles. He turns back and goes to grab for his wallet and phone, ignoring Hansol's question about what brand of water he's gonna get him and what size bottle it was. Seungcheol laughs and Wonwoo smiles as he ignores them both and went outside. Seungcheol locks their room and they all made their way downstairs.

It was only a few minutes walk to the diner they're eating at and they're apparently the last one to get there. Seungcheol introduces them to three people. One was Johnny, who they already knew, and the other two were Taeyong and Yuta. Both were a bit too much for Wonwoo. Both of them were really good looking, almost as slim as Wonwoo but they don't look the least bit unhealthy like Wonwoo.

Yuta was loud and greeted Hansol and him energetically as he shakes their hand before standing in the middle of them and slingin his arms around their shoulders. Hansol seems amused by it all and Wonwoo laughs along.

Taeyong, on the other hand, was a bit more quiet. He introduces himself with a smile and nods as they introduced themselves back. Both of them were really good looking but Taeyong was unreal. Wonwoo could imagine watching a movie where the scene pans closer to Taeyong's face and it goes all slow mo and all. He doesn't say that out loud, of course, but the thought startles him out of his mind and brings him back to the present.

All of them apparently brought their freshmen friends along. The one's they toured earlier in the day like Seungcheol did for Hansol and Wonwoo.

Johnny introduced Ten and Jihoon, Ten energetically introduced himself, his slim arms not doing his strength justice cause he almost shook Wonwoo's arm off. Jihoon simply waved and introduced himself and Wonwoo immediately wanted to be seated next to him. He honestly looks like he's just as young as Hansol but he knew better than to point that out. 

Yuta then introduced his pair, a chubby cheeked and loud guy named Soonyoung and Doyoung who looks more poised than Yuta himself. Wonwoo can only imagine how his tour was earlier today with Yuta and Soonyoung along.

Yuta doesn't let go of his hold of Hansol and him as Taeyong introduced the last two. Jun and Kun. Both of them smiled softly and greeted Wonwoo and Hansol. Jun was pretty and slim but he held himself up well while Kun looks more relaxed, his round face and soft smile makes Wonwoo feel a little bit more relieved now.

Johnny asked one of the staff for help so they can rearrange the chairs and tables to make the twelve of them fit but their request was politely turned down. Apparently the tables and chairs are bolted down and they have no other choice but to sit on three different booths with four people each, or four tables with three people each. The sophomores then stared at each other and Wonwoo feels uneasy when Seungcheol smiles before coming up with a plan. 

"So, what we're gonna do is split you from your group so you can mingle with the others." Seungcheol says. Doyoung mutters a "Thank God." And everyone laughs.

"So I'm gonna pick one from Johnny and one from Taeyong, Johnny is gonna pic from Taeyong and Yuta, Taeyong is gonna pick from Yuta and me, and Yuta is gonna pick one from me and Johnny." Wonwoo blinks. He looks around and sees everyone staring blankly at Seungcheol. Seungcheol's smile drops and he lets out a groan, making everyone stand up as he sits them one by one. Seungcheol chooses Ten and Kun, he then asks Johnny to pick and he picks Jun and Doyoung, he then moves to Taeyong and he chooses Soonyoung and then eyes Wonwoo and Hansol before choosing Wonwoo. Which leaves Yuta with Hansol and Jihoon. 

Wonwoo wishes he and Hansol could trade places right now because if Soonyoung wasn't there to talk for all three of them, all the while simultaneously shoving food down his face, Wonwoo's sure that either Taeyong's gaze on him would melt him eventually or the tension in the air would choke him to death.

Apparently, all of them are living in the same building. Taeyong says he's unfortunately rooming with Yuta for this semester and that Jun and Kun are rooming with each other, Soonyoung is rooming with Doyoung, which means Ten and Jihoon were roomed together. Wonwoo spoke up that he's rooming with Seungcheol and Taeyong quirks an eyebrow at that. He didn't say anything else about it, though. Just commented that that means Johnny and Hansol were roomed together.

They ordered food by table and fifteen minutes into their dinner, Soonyoung continues on his really detailed and animated story telling about his pet hamster and Taeyong adds in that he had a cat back home. Soonyoung then asks if they could have a playdate with their pets and went on a tangent when he wonders out loud if cats and hamsters can even play well. Taeyong laughs at Soonyoung's rambling and Wonwoo smiles as well. He's kind of relieved to know Taeyong's actually human. 

"What about you, Wonwoo? Any pets?" Taeyong asks. Wonwoo swallows his food and shook his head no. 

"I didn't think I'd have enough time to manage one. But I've always loved cats." Wonwoo says. Taeyong smiles and nods.

"I feel so out of place. You're both cat persons. I'm so alone." Soonyoung butts in and Taeyong and Wonwoo laughs. Soonyoung laughs along as well and dinner went on smoothly after that. Taeyong showed pictures of his black cat, Wonwoo then notices a bunch of online games in Taeyong's laptop in one of the pictures where his cat was lying down on top of his laptop. The three of them then talked about which game is better and ended up arguing about PUBG and ROS. Soonyoung declaring its a tie when he explains how he loves gaming but he's absolutely terrible at it. That and the fact that he did not want to partake in their little standoff. 

They ended up splitting the checks by table and Taeyong offers to pay for theirs. Wonwoo and Soonyoung both tried to politely decline but Taeyong just smiles and shook his head no.

"You can pay me back when we play your overrated game and you admit that ROS is better." Taeyong says. Wonwoo rolls his eyes and Soonyoung laughs.

"I'd offer to play with, but i always get shot the moment I land." Soonyoung says, a bit dejectedly. Taeyong still insists that the invitation is also open for him. 

"And besides, you can be the tie breaker. You tell us which is better, ROS or PUBG." Soonyoung smiles and nods.

They then make their way out and Wonwoo looks around and sees Seungcheol still talking as Ten and Kun just stares fondly at him and Hansol and Yuta are laughing about something while Jihoon rolls his eyes with a smile on his lips. 

Wonwoo's still a bit wary of everything. His new friends, his new room, his new everything. But he takes in everything around him for now and takes a deep breath. He lets Soonyoung pulled him by his hand as they all made their way back to their dorms, conversations overlapping each other and still unfamiliar laughter ringing around him. But it's fine.

Everything's fine. 

  


\-----

  


Nothing is fine.

Wonwoo is a week into his college _ experience _and he already wants to figuratively die.

He's dragged to a restobar by the rest of their dorm crew, he refused to submit to Soonyoung's demands and call themselves the T-Boys, and now he's nursing the same bottle he's had for the past hour as he leans back in his chair. 

The past week had gone by in a blur of new faces and connecting building names to what they look like and where they are on campus. He found out that he's in the same minor classes as Soonyoung. Which helps him in terms of socializing. Because Soonyoung talks enough for the both of them whenever anyone approaches them and Wonwoo's too riled up to answer properly. 

His major classes suck. They've had to do an on the spot design on their first day, which is bullshit. Wonwoo came to college to \learn\ this stuff, how are they expecting people to know this on the first day? Their graphics class turns out to be a drafting class as well and not a digital kind of graphics Wonwoo was hoping for and they were asked to draw a still life of anything they want to so Wonwoo drew his book. He made sure to make it as realistic as he can but they were only given thirty minutes so Wonwoo's not so proud of the outcome. Then there's their Architectural Design class, which their professor started with \if you think you're not gonna survive architecture, then you wont\ which totally didn't freak Wonwoo out. his only good major classes are his theory of architecture class and history of architecture class. The professors explained both of the topics smoothly and Wonwoo was kind excited about it.

But three days in and he's swamped with reading materials piling up on each other, he's managed to almost miss a submission on one minor subject, and he's forgotten to buy a P.E. uniform for his one physical education course. It was mandatory and Wonwoo chose Walking for various reasons. But if he knew the course facilitator was gonna make them walk the whole of campus every other day, he wouldn't have picked walking. 

So his friday went by in a blink and here he is now. 

Their large number had left them splitting into two tables. Wonwoo has Hansol to his left, and Jihoon on the other side of Hansol. Doyoung is in front of Jihoon, next to Soonyoung, and Taeyong's seated in front of Wonwoo. Ten, Kun, and Jun are left to handle Johnny's and Yuta's loud laughter as Seungcheol goes around the room. Wonwoo pulls the tray of cheese fries closer to him and Taeyong as Soonyoung tells the table about how he went to the wrong class on the first day of classes and how he ended up staying till the class ended.

"I take it you're not the party type?" Taeyong says over the table and Wonwoo scoffs.

"What gave it away? Was it me asking if I could skip?" Wonwoo says over the music and Taeyong laughs.

"Just hold out for an hour more, come on. It's a special day." Taeyong says. 

Right.

About that.

Wonwoo has no idea what's the occasion.

He's pretty sure someone told him about it somewhere within the day but his mind was still a bit of a mess from trying to fix a manageable schedule for his new college life away from home and he needs to put at least two hours of everyday into calling home. He had come back to his dorm room with Johnny sitting on Seungcheol's bed and asked him if he's excited for the night and Wonwoo just nodded and took in Johnny's outfit as a cue to grab a change of clothes and freshen up a bit after Seungcheol's done in the bathroom. He then follows the two out of the room and trails behind them to walk with Hansol as everyone walks up to Seungcheol. 

Wonwoo has no idea what's the occasion but he has a feeling it has something to do with his roommate. 

No. He's almost certain it is. And Seungcheol parading around in the room with his bare arms glowing under the black light of the room, his white, sleeveless hoodie making him stand out in the room, and the plastic crown on his neck glimmering under the lights. 

The table next to theirs all raise their glasses and bottles up to Seungcheol and realization dawns on Wonwoo. He looks back at Taeyong and saw the elder smiling.

"You know, for a smart guy, you're pretty stupid." Taeyong says with a smile and Wonwoo's glad for the colorful lights or he would've visibly blushed. He nudged Hansol to the side with his elbow and he looked up at him from his conversation with Jihoon.

"Is it Seungcheol's birthday today?" Wonwoo asked and Hansol laughed.

"Yeah, dude! What, did you think we just went out for no reason?" Hansol yells over the song and laughs. Wonwoo laughs and pushes Hansols head down lightly as the younger teases him, sharing with the rest of the table that he had no idea it's his roommates birthday today.

Wonwoo's known the guy for a week, okay? It's not something you'd know in just that short amount of time.

And as if on cue, Seungcheol materializes on Wonwoo's right, leaning on the backrest of Wonwoo's chair as everyone cheers him on. He soaks up the attention and smiles wide as he lifts his bottle in the middle of the table and everyone clinks bottles with him. Wonwoo laughs as Seungcheol slips a bit and ends up pushing Wonwoo with his thigh. Everyone laughs and Wonwoo wraps an arm around the elders waist and scoots a bit to let him sit next to him.

"I think you've had enough of that for tonight." Taeyong says, grabbing for Seungcheol's beer and the latter honest to god pouts. Wonwoo still has an arm around the elder's waist as Seungcheol maneuvers an arm over his shoulders to make it easier to lean in close to Wonwoo's ear to speak.

"It's my birthday." Seungcheol says, practically screaming into Wonwoo's ear. Wonwoo laughs and nods.

"I know." Wonwoo answers back and Seungcheol pulls him closer by the arm around his shoulder as he laughs into Wonwoo's ears.

"You so did not know." Seungcheol says and Wonwoo laughs before nodding.

"I didn't know, okay? We've been roommates for just a week." Wonwoo defends and Seungcheol laughs. 

That must've caught Johnny's attention cause a second after, he comes screaming over to their table with Ten trying to keep him from falling flat on his face as he raises his beer. The rest of the table cheers him on but Taeyong stands up and grabs the bottle from his hand as well. Seungcheol then laughs and stands up to hug Johnny and Taeyong decided it's time to go back to their dorm when Johnny and seungcheol started tearing up as they hugged each other, Johnny mumbling something about Seungcheol getting older and wiser. Wonwoo thinks it's amusing for about a minute until Taeyong reminded him that he's gonna be babysitting drunk Seungcheol as Hansol babysits drunk Johnny. The rest of them laughs as Hansol groans and Wonwoo finishes their fries with a frown. 

The supposedly ten minutes walk back to their building turns into a thirty minute hike for Wonwoo when the rest of them abandoned him. Hansol had Jihoon helping him with a slurring Johnny and the sight of a five foot something man carrying a six foot something man is something Wonwoo will never forget. But jihoon gave the rest a leveled glared which shut them up effectively. Taeyong had Ten helping him with Yuta, And Soonyoung was the only one who actually noticed Wonwoo struggling with Seungcheol, so he helped him carry the heavier man up to their room. 

This wasn't Wonwoo's first time handling a drunk guy. Jeonghan may look angelic but he can _ drink _drink if he wants to. And Wonwoo hates how he'll look more tired than Jeonghan the following morning. So the minute Soonyoung and Wonwoo wrestles Seungcheol into his bed, Soonyoung gets pulled into a hug by the elder, thanking him for "letting me celebrate the most important day in my life with you", Soonyoung then says his goodbye to Wonwoo who's grabbing for a water bottle from Seungcheol's mini fridge and saying goodbye to Soonyoung as he uncaps the bottle.

"Seungcheol. Come on, sit up for now." Wonwoo says, he silently thanks Soonyoung in his mind for thinking ahead and taking Seungcheol's jacket before letting him lie down. 

"Cheollie's tired." Seungcheol says. Wonwoo can't help but smile. There's a six foot something guy, twice as wide as he was, referring to himself with what he assumes as his childhood nickname and pouting as he whines about sitting up.

"You just need to drink this, come on," Wonwoo says. He managed to pull Seungcheol up into a sitting position but the elder glares at him with a pout as he slouches his shoulders.

" 'M not thirsty." Seungcheol says. Wonwoo lifts the bottle up to Seungcheol's mouth and Seungcheol wraps a hand over Wonwoo's hold on the bottle and he ends up chugging the bottle in under six seconds. 

"Better?" Wonwoo asks. Seungcheol then looks up at him with a blank look on his face before nodding. He then lets go of Wonwoo's hand and reached up to poke his cheek.

"Pretty." Seungcheol says and Wonwoo laughed. Seungcheol then smiles.

"Go to sleep, Cheollie." Wonwoo says and Seungcheol nods.

Wonwoo managed to take Seungcheol's shoes off and decided to just let him sleep in his jeans. Seungcheol happily hugs his pillow as he closes his eyes and Wonwoo decided to take a quick shower. After ten minutes in the bathroom he goes out and sees Seungcheol sitting on his bed staring blankly at Wonwoo's bed. Wonwoo closes the door and Seungcheol's head turned towards him. 

"You okay?" Wonwoo asks.

Seungcheol nods.

Then shakes his head no.

"Gotta pee." Seungcheol says Wonwoo stares back as Seungcheol stares at him blankly, still not moving.

"Seungcheol?" Wonwoo calls out and the elder stood up and wobbles his way to the bathroom. Wonwoo has half a mind on going in the bathroom as well and helping the elder in some way but he just waits by the bathroom door and listens in. He's kind of scared Seungcheol would suddenly collapse on the bathroom floor and Wonwoo's pretty sure no one in their building can help him if he ever has to bring him to the infirmary a couple of buildings away.

But Seungcheol emerges from the bathroom a couple of minutes later, looking like he could fall asleep standing right by the door. He takes one look at Wonwoo and smiles before he grabs for his hand and grabs for wrist, dragging him towards his bed and lying down on the furthest part. 

He's making room for Wonwoo.

Wonwoo stares, horrified, as Seungcheol closes his eyes and pulls Wonwoo's wrist. Wonwoo kneels on the side of the bed and stared stupidly at Seungcheol's grip on his arm. Wonwoo tried to tug it free but Seungcheol's grip only tightens even more as Wonwoo tries to wiggle it out.

"Cheol." Wonwoo says as he tries to pry his hand off and Seungcheol whines. _ Whines _. 

"You've got to be shitting me." Wonwoo says. He sits on the edge of the bed and sighs as he lies down. 

Seungcheol's hot.

And no, not like that. He's like, physically hot. Wonwoo grabs for his phone on the table in between their beds and sees a chain of messages from Taeyong.

**Taeyong** ** **

** _im gonna assume u have no idea how to handle cheol_ **

** _drunk-super-clingy-whiney-baby-cheollie, i mean :)_ **

** _ur on cuddle duty tonight, buddy_ **

** _and hes gonna be annoying as hell tomorrow lol_ **

** _good luck_ **

** _oh and give us a txt tomorrow and we'll get breakfast together_ **

** _sleep tight_ **

** _last one's a warning btw ;)_ **

Wonwoo locks his phone and looks at Seungcheol. He tries to wiggle his hand out form Seungcheol's grip again and he thought he finally succeeded. But then Seungcheol's arms are wrapping themselves around Wonwoo's right arm. Wonwoo laughs as Seungcheol rubs his cheek on Wonwoo's shoulder. Wonwoo took a picture of Seungcheol and decided to use it for black mail in the near future. 

Wonwoo then locked his phone and lets himself relax.

Seungcheol's warmth making Wonwoo feel how tired he really is and Seungcheol's sort of a nice substitute for Seokmin clinging onto him. He closed his eyes and feels one of Seungcheol's hands close in on his. He lets it happen. It's not something Seokmin would do but he can totally see it as something Seugncheol would. But that's fine. It's fine. 

Everything's fine.

  


\-----

  


Everything is not fine. 

Nothing is fine. Nothing at all. The world hates him and his body hates him and he kind of hates himself, too, if he was gonna be honest.

Wonwoo groans as he sits up his bed and feels gravity doubling over him. His head hurts. His whole body feels sore. His throat feels like sandpaper. And his eyes sting like a bitch.

He plops back down and regrets it instantly when his head aches even more and his body screams in pain. He grabs for his phone on his table and groans yet again when he sees he only has an hour to get ready for class. He sets an alarm for thirty minutes later and decides to sleep some more. 

Just then the door to their room burst open with a loud _ Good morning, sunshine! _ and Wonwoo groans. It's Seungcheol coming back in from his morning jog.

It's already been a month since classes started, a whole three weeks after Wonwoo woke up to a groaning Seungcheol beside him asking to be put out of his misery, but Wonwoo is still astounded that people like Seungcheol are real. Like, people who actually wake up early to willingly subject themselves to physically straining activities.

Over a long period of time.

Like jogging.

Wonwoo groans and throws a pillow towards Seungcheols's general direction but his arms are as strong as cooked spaghetti so the pillow flops down to the foot of his bed. Then Seungcheol even had the nerve to laugh at his misery. The audacity. 

"Well, hello to you too, sunshine. You look more dead than the usual zombie Nonu." Seungcheol comments. Wonwoo groans again lies on his side since his bed feels stuffy and he can feel his shirt sticking to his back. He closes his eyes and feels himself drifting back to sleep. A moment later he hears some mumbling then he feels a cool hand pressed on his forehead and can't help himself from leaning in towards the touch. He then feels the hand go down to his neck, fingers threading through the small hairs on top of his nape as he hears his name being called out.

"Wonwoo?" Wonwoo opens his eyes and sees Seungcheol's face leveled with his. His eyebrows curling in an unfamiliar way as his face contorts into worry. Wonwoo lifts a finger and pokes the space between Seungcheol's eyebrows. Seungcheol chuckles then sighs. 

"That's it. You're not going to class." That woke Wonwoo's up. 

He sits up abruptly and regrets it instantly as his vision swirls and his head throbs.

"Lie back down! You're sick, Wonwoo." Wonwoo groans but he's too weak to fight the heavy yet gentle palm on his chest making him lie back down. Wonwoo groans and runs a hand through his greasy hair. 

"I can't get sick." Wonwoo says and he hears Seungcheol snort.

"What, you just declared that you will never get sick?" Seungcheol says from somewhere in the room and Wonwoo groans out an annoyed _ Yes _ before lying on his back and staring at the ceiling. He then hears Seungcheol walk up beside his bed and sees him smile down before placing something on his forehead. Wonwoo was about to ask what it was but then sighs as he feels how cool it was. 

"It's a fever patch. It's, like, mad effective. I'll be back in about an hour, okay? I'll just message Soonyoung. You're in the same department, right?" Wonwoo gave him the dirtiest glare he could muster in his state and lets that answer Seungcheol's question.

"What?" Seungcheol asks. Stupidly.

"He's in the Engineering department." 

"Yeah."

"I'm in the Architectural department, Cheol." Wonwoo says. 

Seungcheol looks at him with a questioning look and Wonwoo closed his eyes.

"Imagine me saying you're in the same department as Tourism." He hears Seungcheol scoff and Wonwoo smiles.

"Exactly." Wonwoo says smugly. 

"Whatever. I'll still message him. You two share most of your classes anyways." Seungcheol says. Wonwoo then hears shuffling around their room again and feels Seungcheol's presence beside his bed. Seungcheol then traces something that feels like a star on top of the fever patch on his forehead before laughing softly.

"Try to sleep some more." Seungcheol says and Wonwoo groans in response. He hears footsteps walking around his bed and hears the door opens and closes gently. He focuses on the coolness on his forehead and that kind of made it easier to fall back to sleep. 

  


The next time Wonwoo wakes up that day, he feels fingers peeling of the fever patch on his forehead and he tries swatting it away. The patch feels good on his skin, nice and cool.

"Will you behave. I'm trying to change it to a new one." Seungcheol's voice says and Wonwoo groans.

"You're a child." Seungcheol says when he peeled it off of Wonwoo's forehead and places a new one after fixing a few stray hair away from Wonwoo's forehead. Wonwoo hums softly at the new and cooler feeling on his forehead and smiles to himself at the feeling. 

"I am so using this for blackmail." Seungcheol says somewhere above Wonwoo and Wonwoo opens one eye and sees Seungcheol holding up his phone in front of him. Wonwoo glares at him and his brain must have mixed up the signals since Seungcheol laughs and cooes at him.

"Oh my god, he's pouting. You're pouting. This is the best gift god has ever given me." Seungcheol says. Wonwoo flips him the finger and Seungcheol laughs.

"Okay, sit up. You need some food in you." Seungcheol says. Wonwoo hears him zip open his bag and sets something on his table before coming around and helping him up. 

"It's not even lunch yet." Wonwoo complains and Seungcheol snorts.

"Won, it's two in the afternoon." Seungcheol says as he places a tupperware of food on Wonwoo's lap. Wonwoo looks out the window on his side of the room and sees the sun shining through the curtains. Seungcheol then moved towards the window and opened the curtains, the sunlight landing on Wonwoo's bed and he lifts his legs from under the bed and sighs at the warm feeling. He then scoots to the other end of his bed and sits cross legged as he faces the window. He then feels Seungcheol sitting behind him and his body automatically leans back. 

Wonwoo devours the food in a matter of minutes and he feels Seungcheol's laugh on his back as he laughs at Wonwoo's burp. Wonwoo's not even sure what it was, if he's gonna be honest. But it was good. Seungcheol said it was great comfort food and Wonwoo can vouch for that. He closes his eyes as he leans back on Seungcheol's back and just soaks in the sun. He and Seungcheol had gotten close in a span of a month but if Wonwoo wasn't feeling like shit, he just knows he wouldn't be this touchy. 

"Feeling better?" Seungcheol asks and Wonwoo humms. He did feel better. 

"Figured. I knew it wasn't that bad. Just the usual." Seungcheol said. Wonwoo sits up and turns to face Seungcheol the same time Seungcheol turns to take the tupper ware and spoon away from Wonwoo. Wonwoo stretches his leg out and faces the head of his bed and moves a bit to the right when Seungcheol sits next to him.

"The usual?" Wonwoo asks. Seungcheol nods. Both of them were facing the wall in front of them as Wonwoo leans his side to the elder. 

"Yup. You've been phoning your mom everyday since last week. Jeonghan messaged me a couple of days ago and asked me if you're doing your school work because you keep flooding your group chats. Even Seokmin's asking me to confiscate your phone. So I figured it's just you feeling a bit homesick." Wonwoo feels himself flush at that and he hits Seungcheol's arms as hard as he can, which means it's not that hard at all. 

"I'm not homesick, i'm _ sick _ sick. I had a fever. You said so yourself." Wonwoo defended. Seungcheol nods. 

"Yeah. But you've been feeling down all week now. You probably got sick from being too sulky and moody." Seungcheol explains.

Wonwoo gave him another glare. Which was a good idea in hindsight. But with their shoulders pressed and Wonwoo's head almost leaning towards Seungcheol's and him glancing down at Wonwoo. Well, let's just say Wonwoo was an inch away from Seungcheol's perfect nose and it almost makes him feel dizzy. 

Wonwoo then goes back to staring at the wall in front of them as they sat there in silence. Wonwoo scoots lower so his head was perched on Seungcheol's shoulder. Seungcheol was a sturdy thing to lean on and Wonwoo's head was feeling a bit light from how full he feels so he's not sure if the sunlight coming from the window was making him feel warm or if it's all Seungcheol. Regardless of what it was, he ended up falling asleep better than ever ever since he moved in their dorm.

  


The next time Wonwoo wakes up, he freezes. He keeps his eyes shut as he feels someone lift his right arm as they slip away from beside Wonwoo and then gently lifts his head before putting a pillow under it. His bed then springs up when that someone stands up and Wonwoo peeked open one eye and sees Seungcheol's back facing him as he walks towards his bed.

Wonwoo then feigns sleep and turns to his other side and sees the clear night sky out of his window. He hears shuffling from behind him and then hears the familiar creak of Seungcheol's mattress. He then heard it creak again followed by footsteps coming closer so Wonwoo shuts his eyes and waits. He feels a slight tug of the covers from under him and then hears Seungcheol sigh before the left side of his covers are thrown over him. Wonwoo then hears Seungcheol walk back to his bed and shuffles for a bit before the room goes silent. Wonwoo takes a deep breath and pretends that his covers doesn't smell like Seungcheol at all and that it didn't help him fall back to sleep that night.

  


\-----

"Hansol, if you do not stop that right now I will castrate you with your own shoelaces." Jihoon says from the other end of the table and Wonwoo looks up from his notes and sees Hansol trying to balance three books and an empty water bottle on top of Soonyoung's sleeping head. 

"By all means, please do not stop." Doyoung says from Wonwoo's right as he scowls at Soonyoung in front of him. Wonwoo snorts and he feels Jihoon's glare on him. 

"Don't encourage him." Wonwoo closes his notes, he's been reading the same paragraph for an hour anyways so it's not like it's gonna progress anymore at this point.

"I'm not." Wonwoo defends and Hansol took that as his chance to add his wallet on top of the water bottle. Doyoung rolls his eyes as Jihoon's scowl deepens.

"Doesn't matter, I'm wearing slip on sneakers." Hansol says cheekily as he smiles at Jihoon. Jihoon glares.

"You think you're so cute, don't you?" Jihoon says. Hansol nods and turns to Soonyoung to take pictures. 

They're at their corner of the library, like their usual Wednesday afternoon routine, and all of them agreed on using their free time to study. But half an hour in on their study session, Soonyoung's already snoring, Hansol is bored, and Jun had run off to the bathroom and still hasn't returned. It's been a week since Wonwoo's little sick day and he's only about to catch up with their lessons. So he really needs this chance to at least try to read his notes.

It's not that he missed an entire week of classes, he went back to class the day after, actually. But since he missed the Tuesday lessons, Wednesday lessons were hard to understand, which means Thursday lessons were worse, and, well, you see the pattern. But Soonyoung helped catch him up on their shared classes around Saturday and Seungcheol brought them back food he made in one class. Soonyoung then tried to propose to Seungcheol and Seungcheol politely turned him down. Something about marrying for love and not because someone wants him as their personal chef.

Wonwoo was brought back to their table when Doyoung knocked on their table right in front of Soonyoung and he shot up awake. Hansol's books scattered on the table with a loud series of thuds and his water bottle rolls off and away from their table, and his wallet fell right in front of Wonwoo. Hansol then tries to hold in his laughter and Jihoon closed his notebook before whacking Vernon on the head with it. 

"That was honestly so entertaining." Wonwoo says. Doyoung nods.

"Very. Do it again." Doyoung says and Wonwoo smiles at Soonyoung's confused face and Jihoon's glare. 

"Lighten up Hoonie." Hansol says and that just made Jihoon seethe. 

"Yeah _ Hoonie _." Wonwoo adds. Doyoung closes his book as well and smiles at Jihoon.

"I think _ Hoonie's _ just naturally repulsed by anything fun." Doyoung adds. Soonyoung yawns and smiles sleepily.

"Heh. Hoonie." Soonyoung says, his brain probably still half asleep. Wonwoo snorts and sees Hansol looking a bit embarrassed. Jihoon then smiles calmly over the table and Wonwoo honest to God shivers.

"You really want to play this game, Nonu?" Jihoons says and Wonwoo shuts right up. He glares at Hansol and the younger just smiles innocently.

"Nope. Shutting up now." Wonwoo says. But it's too late.

"Nonu? Oh my God that's absolutely _ adorable _. I am only calling you Nonu from now on. Thank you Hoonie." Doyoung says excitedly and Wonwoo groans.

"Shut up Dooie" Jihoon throws back and Doyoung scowls.

"And don't thank me, thank Hansol." Jihoon says.

"Nope, thank Seungcheol. He came up with it." Hansol says and Wonwoo gawkes.

"_ Dude!" _ Wonwoo exclaimed and Jihoon and Doyoung snickers.

"What? It's true. I swear to god he never shuts up about Nonu, like, ever. He has you as his phone wallpaper, y'know." Hansol says and Wonwoo flushes. It's the picture of Wonwoo 'glaring' at Seungcheol when he was sick and Seungcheol uses every chance he gets to threaten to show it to anyone and everyone.

"This I did not know. Please, continue." Jihoon says to Hansol all the while smiling evilly at Wonwoo.

"Please, don't." Wonwoo says and Hansol laughs.

"Fine. I kinda did a verbal non disclosure agreement, anyways." Hansol says and Wonwoo gawkes.

"Okay, now I want to hear it." Wonwoo says. Hansol then mimes zipping his mouth shut and smiles at all of them. 

Their conversation went on a tangent just then when Soonyoung points to Jun running back to their table and Jun telling them about his trip to the bathroom going astray when he helped a guy he saw in front of the sink with a bloody nose.

Wonwoo has to admit, it's not exactly new to him how Seungcheol's been to him. Asking him about his day, saying something about his own day to get Wonwoo to react and say something back, the various petnames and the annoying nickname, the clingy, overbearing attitude. It's clear as day that he's pulling a Jeonghan on him and Wonwoo is going to test it.

Friday night that week, their small group had decided to go out for drinks since this might be their last easy going week seeing that midterms are closing in and their classes are starting to list down requirements and stuff. 

If Wonwoo's suspicions were true,

Seungcheol would try to coax him out when he turned down the offer to stay at home.

After that Wonwoo would join them but would also not drink with them, which would end up with Seungcheol trying to make him have fun.

And then he'd suggest turning in earlier and Seungcheol would convince him to stay out for a while longer to _ bond with your friends _. 

Wonwoo was so sure that this night is gonna go as planned.

  


But it didn't. 

  


When Wonwoo voices out that he doesn't feel like going out, Seungcheol's face contorts into worry and it completely threw Wonwoo off when he phones in Johnny saying he and Wonwoo won't be joining them for the night. After that, Wonwoo was subjected to a list of questions that reminds him of a clinical check up he had years back.

"Are you feeling okay? Lightheaded? Dizzy? You ate lunch with us earlier so it's probably not that. Wait, did you eat dinner? Do you want dinner? Maybe you're feeling sick?" Wonwoo was too stunned to stop Seungcheol's barrage of questions but immediately voiced out that he's okay when Seungcheol insisted on checking his temperature.

"I'm fine. Not just feeling like going out, yknow?" Wonwoo says. He's honestly feeling a little bit guilty for making Seungcheol stay in as well because he never really thought it'd go this way. 

"Oh, okay. You sure?" Seungcheol asks and Wonwoo nods. 

"You can go out, y'know. I'll be fine. 'M just tired." Wonwoo says. The guilt weighing on his shoulder more and more everytime he looks at Seungcheol on his bed. 

"Nah, that's cool. I kinda need a quiet night, too. The following couple of weeks are going to be a pain in the ass for me." Seungcheol says. Wonwoo smiles.

The night was, well for one, it was not what Wonwoo had planned. He ended up on his bed with his laptop on while Seungcheol was on his phone for an hour, then moved to his laptop, then he started bothering Wonwoo.

"Wanna order some food?"

"Wanna make food?"

"Wanna see this video?"

"Wanna play?" 

  


Which is the last question Seungcheol asks that night. Wonwoo felt guilty for keeping him cooped up on a friday night so he agreed to play. Wonwoo chooses to leave out his headphones in favor of hearing Seungcheol scream bloody murder when he's firing at someone or when he's getting fired at and Wonwoo can't lie that listening to him makes the game even more fun. Their enemies seems to think so too, if the laughter coming from Wonwoo's laptop is anything to go by.

Seungcheol screams defeatedly as he got shot down by someone from the roof and he keeps screaming at Wonwoo to save him but eventually his character dies as he tries to crawl to safety. Wonwoo laughs as Seungcheol pouts from his bed before bringing his laptop with him and sitting down next to Wonwoo. 

"You can see my screen on your screen when you die, Cheol. You've died more than a dozen times before me before this game." Wonwoo teases and Seungcheol tells him to shut up.

Wonwoo ended up winning the game with Seungcheol on his left seeing other players on his screen that he wouldn't have seen otherwise. Seungcheol screams _ CHICKEN DINNEEEERRR _from the top of his lungs and Wonwoo hits him in the face with a pillow to shut him up. 

But it ends up with Seungcheol laughing like an idiot. After that Seungcheol's laptop dies all of a sudden in the middle of their next game and Wonwoo curses as Seungcheol jumps off of Wonwoo's bed to grab his charger but Wonwoo got distracted when Seungcheol face plants on their floor. Wonwoo drops his laptop on his bed as he goes to Seungcheol. 

The elder was groaning on the floor and Wonwoo laughs when he turns Seungcheol face up and sees him pouting.

"It's not funny." Seungcheol says.

"It shouldn't be funny. But it kinda is." Wonwoo says and Seungcheol pushes him off and he fell on his ass on the floor as Seungcheol sits up.

"Now I'm kinda hungry." Wonwoo says and Seungcheol's face lit up. 

"There's this really cool place I know and I'll take you there but," Seungcheol paused, "you can't tell the guys about it. Ever." Wonwoo eyes Seungcheol for a second before shrugging. 

"Sure. Do we need to change?" Wonwoo looks at his sweat pants and shirt and Seungcheol's shorts and sweater. Seungcheol shook his head no as he grabs for his shoes.

"It's close. But you might want to bring a jacket." Wonwoo nods as he goes for his own shoes under his bed. 

Ten minutes later, the two were walking outside of campus grounds and into a street full of food stalls. It took them less than five minutes to wear their shoes and grab their wallets and phones, but Wonwoo couldn't find his thick jacket so Seungcheol had to lend him one of his. 

So Wonwoo tails Seungcheol as he passes the first three shops and goes into a small coffee shop type thing, he takes his hands out of his pockets as he feels warm air blow into his face. It's a small shop with just about enough tables to seat their whole group. Seungcheol greets the old man behind the counter and Wonwoo looks up at the menu and smiles to himself as he sees a long list of pasta and different kinds of bread. And on the right most part of the menu is a list of different kinds of coffees and teas. 

"Hey, which pasta do you want? We can buy two and just share half of each?" Seungcheol asks Wonwoo.

"Anything really. What about you? Which one do you wanna try?" Wonwoo asks. The old man behind the counter laughs and Wonwoo feels a bit embarrassed for some reason.

"Young man, this boy right here have tried every listed thing up there plus a few that aren't even on the list yet." The old man says and Seungcheol laughs.

"Mr. Jung is exaggerating." Seungcheol says.

"Is he, though?" Wonwoo asks and the old man, or Mr. Jung, laughs. 

"Okay, so I basically lived off of their food here on my first sem, freshman year." Seungcheol says and Mr. Jung nods.

"This one had the nerve to tell me my pie crust were too soggy." Mr Jung says in a scowl before smiling at Wonwoo.

"It was true, though." Mr. Jung says and Wonwoo laughs.

"Well, anything I can get for the two of you?" Seungcheol looks at Wonwoo and Wonwoo stares at the list again.

"How about red pesto and carbonara?" Wonwoo asks Seungcheol and Seungcheol smiles.

"Excellent choice." Seungcheol says. Mr. Jung writes down the order and walks back to a small window behind him to clip the order on the edge.

"Make this one a special. It's our special guest." Mr Jung says and Wonwoo hears someone laughing from inside the window.

"Is that Jae? Is that you in there, dough boy?" Seungcheol says and Wonwoo hears a muffle _ fuck off _ before Seungcheol laughs.

"Boys." Mr. Jung says and Seungcheol apologizes.

"You're gonna get fatter if you keep eating here, Cheol. I'll make sure to add more salt than necessary." Someone says from behind the window and Seungcheol laughs.

"It's not all mine! And what do you mean fatter? I'm not fat!" Seungcheol says and Wonwoo sighs.

"Please don't call him fat. If he turns his six AM jog into a five AM jog I'm gonna lose it." Wonwoo says and Mr. Jung laughs. 

"Oh, is that a date? Choi Seungcheol, how come i had no idea you had a boyfriend now?" Wonwoo then sees a really pale and soft looking guy lean down to look through the small window, smiling up at them. His skin was so fair Wonwoo's sure he's paler than Seungcheol. His hair was pulled back in a black bandanna tied around his forehead which makes his brown eyes stand out even more as his dimpled smile came into view.

"This, is Wonwoo. And, no. He's not my boyfriend, he's my roommate. My _ straight _ roommate." Seungcheol says and Wonwoo sees Jaehyun look him from the waist up.

"That's kind of unfortunate." The guy says before standing back up and disappearing from the window.

"That's what I said." Seungcheol says and Wonwoo smacks him in the back of his head.

"I'm just right here." Wonwoo says. Seungcheol laughs as he rubs the back of his head. 

"That's Jaehyun, by the way. He's Mr. Jung's grandson and I used to help him out in the kitchen last semester. He doesn't like the fact that I can cook their family recipes better than he can." Seungcheol says, a bit louder than necessary and Wonwoo smiles as Mr. Jung shakes his head.

"Hey Wonwoo! Which one's yours? I don't want to accidentally add sugar in your food." Jaehyun calls out from inside the kitchen and Mr. Jung scolds him for it. 

Mr. Jung asks them to take a seat for a while while he helps Jaehyun in the kitchen, apparently not trusting him enough when he says he's not actually gonna add sugar in the pasta. 

Wonwoo takes a seat and sees Seungcheol saying something to Mr. Jung before walking around the counter and started messing with their stuff.

"Cheol! What the hell?" Wonwoo says and Seungcheol laughs.

"Calm down. I'm making our drinks. I'm Mr. Jung approved, okay?" Wonwoo eyes him cautiously as he starts working on something behind the display of pastries. Wonwoo decided to look away in favor of looking around the place. 

The place was small. Wonwoo takes a seat on the closest table in front of the counter and with his back to the counter, he can see the people outside walking by with plastic bags of doof on both hands, all wearing casual clothes. One guy was even wearing what looks like a sweater, boxers, and thigh high socks. Wonwoo wasn't even aware you can still buy thigh high socks.

The wall on his left was a mosaic of what seems like polaroid photos arranged randomly on top of a wooden wall. The wall on his right was a whole mirror from floor to ceiling and Wonwoo sees his reflection on it and smiles. Seungcheol's hoodie looks like it's swallowing his frame and he laughs as he pulls his hand out of the sleeve. He then sees Seungcheol walking towards him with two disposable glasses with a cover and smiles as he places one in front of Wonwoo.

"Iced black tea with Vanilla extract," Seungcheol says as he taps on the cup in front of Wonwoo, "Iced black tea with almond milk." Seungcheol says as he raises his cup before also putting it in front of Wonwoo. Wonwoo takes it as an offer to pick one so he grabs both and takes a sip of the one with vanilla before tasting the one with milk. Seungcheol smiles at him and watches as he places the one with vanilla in front of Seungcheol before taking another sip of his drink. 

"No way! I totally thought you'd pick this one!" Seungcheol says and Wonwoo smiles.

"The vanila kind of overwhelms the actual tea." Wonwoo says. He looks up at Wonwoo again and sees him just staring at him with this big doe eyes and a soft smile on his lips.

"What? You didn't put something weird here, did you?" Wonwoo asks and Seungcheol laughs. 

"What? No!" Seungcheol laughs.

"It's... It's nothing." Seungcheol says at the same time Mr. Jung calls them over. Wonwoo stands up, zips up Seungcheol's hoodie up to his neck and smiles at Mr. Jung.

"I threw in a couple of pastries I've been working on with Jae in there." Mr. Jung says and Seungcheol starts to protest.

"Oh, stop it. You can tell me all the mistakes about it the next time you come by." Mr. Jung says and Seungcheol smiles.

"How much for the pasta and the drinks, though?" Wonwoo asks and Seungcheol pulls him back.

"Don't bother, I already put the money in the register earlier." Seungcheol says. Wonwoo looks back and sees Jaehyun and Mr. Jung smiling at them and he waved them goodbye. 

The cool air outside hits his face in an instant and he shivers a bit. Seungcheol still has a hold on Wonwoo's wrist and he lets the elder drag him towards random stalls. He bought takoyaki from an old couple who also seemed to know him, the guy behind the counter of the convenience store also knows him, and when they both had two plastic bags of food each in one hand as they sip on their tea with the other hand, Seungcheol _ finally _ decided that it was enough for tonight.

Seungcheol keeps talking about different people and how he met them and how they still keep in touch. It made Wonwoo think of how his life was back at home. His only friends are basically Jeonghan and Seokmin. Everyone else he met through Jungkook. It kind of added some sort of bitter weight on his heart as they walked up the steps to their room.

Seungcheol unlocks the door and sets everything on his table. Wonwoo waits for Seungcheol to finish and hands over the food he's holding and lets Seungcheol prepares it. Wonwoo sips the last bit of tea he has left and smiles when Seungcheol finishes. Seungcheol's table was set up in between their beds so they can sit on their beds and eat in front of each other. Two large portions of pasta, two pieces of what Seungcheol explains as _ ube _ rolls, ten pieces of takoyaki, and ten pieces of what Seungcheol explains as bucchi which are these small white balls covered in sesame seeds.

"Okay, i'm honestly intrigued. I wanna try this first." Wonwoo picks a piece of bucchi in his chopsticks and bites it in half. 

"It's made from sticky rice flour and water. The filling is usually cooked mung beans but you can put anything in there." Seungcheol explains as he picks one as well. Wonwoo nods, pretends that he actually heard what Seungcheol said and that his mind didn't just go blank from how delicious it was. Seungcheol laughs at him and Wonwoo can't even feel embarrassed about it.

"This is honestly one of the best things I've ever had in my mouth." Wonwoo says as he picks another piece. He hears Seungcheol choke out a cough and reaches for his drink. Wonwoo looks up at him and asks if he's okay and Seungcheol nods, looking a bit red in the face, and picked up the carbonara and started eating. Wonwoo picks up the red pesto and almost inhales the entire plate.

Wonwoo's proud to say that he knows how to cook. He kind of had to learn when their mom started working longer shifts and wouldn't be home in time for dinner. But this kind of food? Wonwoo's never had this kind of food before. He always just cook for the sake of eating and now it's like he's been eating wrong his entire life.

"You're gonna want to save me some of that, Nonu. You said we'll share." Seuungcheol says, he offers Wonwoo the carbonara and Wonwoo switches with him and handed over the pesto. Wonwoo took a sip of water before tasting the carbonara and Seungcheol laughed when Wonwoo honest to god moans.

"Oh my god. Keep it down! They're gonna think you're doing something sexual and not just eating!" Seungcheol screams from the other side of the table in between laughter and Wonwoo blushes before he kept shoving pasta down his throat. He barely chews it at all and almost chokes when he made eye contact with a smiling Seungcheol from across the table.

"I've never seen you eat this much this fast. I should've taken you there after the first week." Seungcheol jokes and Wonwoo laughs.

"Yeah, you should have." Seungcheol laughs again and he moved on to the takoyaki. Seungcheol offers one to Wonwoo and Wonwoo pulls back, a sorry smile on his lips.

"I don't- I can't eat sea food." Wonwoo says. Seungcheols smiles and nods.

"I know that. This one has bacon and cheese inside." Seungcheol says, the piece in his chopsticks almost slipping off in front of Wonwoo and Wonwoo looks up at him cautiously before taking it in his mouth.

"You think Jeonghan didn't give me a list of things to do and things not to do for you?" Seungcheol jokes and, well, it kind of put Wonwoo off.

Wonwoo's grateful for Jeonghan. Really. He's always looking out for Wonwoo when Wonwoo's too busy taking care of literally everyone else but himself. But something about Seungcheol mentioning him kind of puts a damper on his mood. Like Seungcheol knows something about him not because of how close they are, but because of Jeonghan. That his friendship with Seungcheol had been orchestrated by Jeonghan since the beginning.

Like Seungcheol's only friends with Wonwoo because of Jeonghan.

"You like it? If not, I can have them all and you get the rest of those." Seungcheol says as he points at the paper plate with the bucchi. Wonwoo smiles. 

"I like it. I've always wanted to try them but, you know, sea food." Wonwoo says. Seungcheol nods as he takes another piece and lifts it up towards Wonwoo's mouth again.

"Yeah, I'm gonna have to report that to Jeonghan. If I hadn't noticed you switching plates with Soonyoung that one time in the diner, I wouldn't have known." Seungcheol says. Wonwoo opens his mouth mindlessly and takes the piece in his mouth. He chews slowly as he stares at Seungcheol smiling at him. Seungcheol then starts on a story of how he met the couple who owned the takoyaki stall and Wonwoo blanks out.

So Seungcheol didn't know because of Jeonghan.

Wonwoo's not sure why this lone fact has his heart racing a bit out of tune.

He smiles to himself and it must've been the right timing to Seungcheol's story since he laughs out loud.

"It was so embarrassing! I told them I'll never go back there again, but we all knew that was a lie." Seungcheol finishes. Wonwoo nods with a smile so it won't look like he didn't actually know what Seungcheol was talking about. 

"You feeling okay? You look a bit flushed?" Seungcheol asks before leaning over the table to feel Wonwoo's forehead.

"You're kind of hot. Maybe we shouldn't have gone out. It was kind of cold." Seungcheol says. Wonwoo shook his head no as he swats Seungcheol's hand away.

"I'm fine. I had a jacket and everything. And even if I do get sick, I don't mind. I had a lot of fun." Wonwoo says. Seungcheol sits back down on his bed and smiles at Wonwoo. Wonwoo still thinks God is a bitch for picking favorites and making Seungcheol look like the way he is, big doe eyes and long lashes and all. But he's glad Seungcheol isn't an egotistical jackass.

"You sure it wasn't just cause you were with me? While wearing my hoodie?" Seungcheol asks with a teasing smile. 

Okay, he's sort of narcissistic but Wonwoo thinks his other qualities balances it out.

"You're so far up your own ass, you know that." Wonwoo says and Seungcheol laughs out loud. 

They finished all the food after almost an hour of eating and Seungcheol cleared the tables in favor of resuming their game night. They end up sleeping at around four in the morning but Wonwoo has no regrets. The night was filled with lots of laughter, lots of food, occasionally glances over the screen and Seungcheol's pained screams when Wonwoo stomps on his toes when he stupidly dies not even halfway through the game.

  


\-----

  


Wonwoo was in the middle of groaning helplessly while he stares at his major plate handout when his phone started ringing. 

It was a quiet Thursday night for him and Seungcheol went out with the others for dinner and Wonwoo had just asked him to bring him back some food and he'll pay. Wonwoo had to be ahead of their schedule if he wants to get a better grade and seeing as how he got an eighty on his research output, he's gonna need to be way ahead. 

So he checks his phone and smiles when Hansol's name was flashing on the screen before answering the call. 

"What's up?" 

"Hey. I know you're up there. Come out." Hansol says and Wonwoo laughs. He stands up and walks to their door and he moves to the railings and sees Hansol beaming from below. 

"I have a lot of stuff to do right now." Wonwoo says and Hansol shakes his head no.

"You need to loosen up a bit. We're not even a month in college and you're already taking it seriously." Hansol says and Wonwoo laughs.

"When is the right time to take it seriously? When I'm already failing?" Wonwoo asks and Hansol shrugs with a smile.

"Come on. Let's just take a walk or something. There's a convenience store just outside the campus that sells coffee flavored ice cream." Hansol says and Wownoo gave him a pointed look.

"You think that's gonna make me join you?"

"Coffee runs in your veins. You said so yourself." Hansol says and Wonwoo rolls his eyes and starts walking back to their room. Hansol starts to whine and he stops and turns.

"I'll just grab my things and put on my shoes. I'll be down in a minute." Wonwoo yells and he hears Hansol scream 'yes!" as he closes the door.

Fifteen minutes of walking later and they're wandering around the inside of a mini mart. Hansol had run around inside with a basket and when Wonwoo sees him again after five minutes, his basket is filled with chips and snacks that Seungcheol would definitely disapprove of. Wonwoo bought enough to last him the weekend and a few energy drinks he just knows he has to hide from Seungcheol. When they were up on the counter Hansol points at the ice cream machine and true to his words, It's coffee flavored ice cream. They paid for their own baskets but Wonwoo paid for Hansol's ice cream. He feels like he should seeing that he's older. They then went out and sat at one of the tables set outside and Hansol happily eats his ice cream. 

"How did you even know about the ice cream?" Wonwoo asks and Hansol smiles.

"They're good, right? Hoonie brought me here last week. He buys his food here and i saw the icecream and he bought me one too. You guys should stop paying for my ice cream just cause I'm younger." Hansol says and Wonwoo laughs.

"I'm pretty sure Jihoon and I have very different motives on why we paid for your ice cream." Wonwoo says and Hansol stops eating.

"I don't get it." Hansol says and Wonwoo stares. 

"Don't you like him?" Wownoo asks and Hansol blushes instantly. It was kind of funny especially since he almost spilled his ice cream.

"I do. But I don't know if he likes me. Besides, It's only been a month so i don't really know. This could just be a crush." Hansol says and Wonwoo nods.

"You two would look cute together." Wonwoo teases and Hansol got even more red as he throws a crumpled napkin at Wonwoo's face.

"What? I'm just saying! And I'm not the only one who noticed that he frowns a lot less when you're in the room." Hansol stares down at the table and smiles. Wonwoo smiles and starts munching on the cone of his ice cream.

The two of them stayed there for a while, just talking and eating, and they only went back when Seungcheol called Wonwoo to ask where he was. 

"Hansol kidnapped me and dragged me to buy chips." Wonwoo says and Hansol laughs.

"That's not true! He bought chips too!" Hansol screams and Seungcheol laughs on the other end of the line.

"Well, we got food. Yuta bought a lot earlier so we have lots of leftovers. Johnny has some for Hansol too." Seungcheol says

"Oh okay, We'll be back soon." 

"Oh, and can you ask Hansol to call Jihoon? Ten says he hasn't come back yet."

"Okay, okay." Wonwoo says and he hangs up when Seungcheol yells out a bye.

"Cheol says to ask you to call Jihoon?"

"He's still not back? it's almost nine." Hansol says as he grabs for his food and dials up Jihoon's number on his phone. They start their walk back as Hansol tries to call Jihoon and Wonwoo tried his best to not listen in.

"Where are you? Studio or library?"

"Because If you don't come back to the dorms right now I'm gonna go there and annoy you so bad that you'd want to go back."

"I don't care if you're older."

"We have food, come on."

"Sure sure. Okay. Don't pass out on the way back. Bye!" 

Hansol ends the call and pockets his phone.

"He hasn't _ actually _ passed out on the way home before, right?"

"No. But he went in our room one time cause we don't lock the door when we're inside, and he just walks in and goes straight to my bed while I was on my desk. It was kind of funny." Hansol says and Wonwoo snorts. He's definitely using that someday.

Wonwoo lets Hansol talk about Jihoon the whole walk back to their dorms and they find almost everyone outside with four desks set up in a straight table as they pile out chairs. Hansol calls out to them and Seungcheol waves from the second floor as they walk up. 

"What's happening here?" Wonwoo asks Johnny as they approached the table and Wonwoo saw a lot of food set up.

"Well, we bought too much food and thought we could have a little dinner underneath the stars kind of night. Have you called Jihoon?" 

"Yeah. He should be here any minute now." Hansol answered and Johnny pushed them on two of the seats and asks them to wait until Jihoon was back.

Wonwoo looks around and sees most of them already looking ready for bed. He then laughs when he hears Yuta's loud screams as he approaches the dorm and he turns to see him carrying a pack of beers with Taeyong and Kun as Jihoon walks next to Kun with his backpack slung in just one arm, already looking tired. Everyone cheers and Johnny shushes them and tells them to shut up or they'll be reported. Wownoo asks if they're allowed to have beer inside campus and Johnny and Seungcheol exchanged a look before Seungcheol nods and Johnny shakes his head no.

_ Right. _

The night went on great. They tried their best to fit everyone around the table but Seungcheol still ended up sitting behind the middle of Wonwoo and Hansol. Yuta and Soonyoung looked extremely happy just eating and drinking as Taeyong just holds the same bottle the whole night and watches everyone like a hawk. Johnny and Ten laughing at absolutely nothing, Jun and Kun talking softly at each other, Doyoung and Jihoon asking everyone to quiet down every five minutes as Hansol tells Jihoon something, and Seungcheol checking up on him and how his month had been. How his college life had been so far.

"It's... It's just awesome. You guys are awesome." Wonwoo says and Seungcheol clinks bottles with him with a smile before drinking. 

  


\-----

Wonwoo groans when he hears his alarm go off and silently wishes that he had the ability to stop time 'cause he is _ not _ in the mood to get up just now. He blindly reaches for his phone on his table and drags his phone in front of his face before peaking one eye open. He sees the alarm he set still blaring and his eyes widened when he saw the name of the alarm. The alarm he set at September one at six AM every year.

He sits up abruptly and rubs at his eyes before picking up his glasses and wrapping his comforter around his shoulder. He smiles as he looks at Seungcheol's empty bed and sees the light in the bathroom illuminating their otherwise still dark room. He went out and took a deep breath. He leaned back on the railing in front of their door and smiles as he dialed up his number.

It rang once, twice, three times, before he hears a soft click, some rustling, and a familiar groaning from the other side of the line.

"I hate you so fucking much." Jungkook says and Wonwoo laughs.

"Well, good morning to you, too, birthday boy." Wonwoo says between laughs and he hears Jungkook groan. Again.

"What? Did you think I'll stop just cause I'm miles away?" Wonwoo asked and Jungkook let out, yet again, another groan.

"I had my fingers crossed that you would." Jungkook says and Wonwoo scoffed.

"Well happy birthday to you, my _ baby _ boy. I hope you're doing just fine without me there and I love you so very very much." Wonwooo says. The words were said genuinely but also with a slight hint of teasing, knowing that Jungkook hates being pampered.

"You can't be bothered to get up for your nine am class but you'd wake up at, what, six in the morning just to be an insufferable pain in the ass?" Jungkook says and Wonwoo laughed.

"Of course! You know you're my main priority." Wonwoo says and laughs when Jungkook gave him an exasperated sigh.

"I'm hanging up now." Jungkook threatens and Wonwoo laughs.

"Fine. Fine. Happy birthday Kookie." Wonwoo says.

"Thanks. Love you." Jungkook says Wonwoo smiles and ends the call. 

He turns around and saw the sun rising on the horizon just as their door opens up behind him. 

Seungcheol's wearing a sweater that's probably a few sizes too big on him, his collarbone and a bit of his back and chest exposed, with his running shorts and cycling shorts on and his running shoes on.

"You're up early." Seungcheol says. He then starts stretching his arms and back, twisting his body and pulling at his arms.

"It's my brother's birthday, actually. And I always make sure I greet him first." Wonwoo explained and Seungcheol smiles. 

He then started stretching his legs, lifting his right leg on the railing and bending down his left leg. then he straightens them out and he leans forward to reach his toes. Wonwoo watches him openly and takes note on how flexible Seungcheol is. He's basically folded in half right in front of him right now. 

"I didn't think you'd be the annoying type of brother." Seungcheol says, still bent over. 

"I'm- I'm not. Not usually, at least. But i just want to annoy him a bit sometimes and this is kind of like tradition now." Wonwoo explained as Seungcheol drops his right leg in favor of lifting his left leg. His left leg now stratched out in front of Wonwoo and he's so fucking jealous of how nice Seungcheol's muscles were. They're practically like those greek sculptures he sees on their textbooks before. And the cycling shorts that goes down to his thighs makes his muscles look even more defined somehow. Seungcheol's really the very first guy Wonwoo had met that actually looks like this. With the muscles and all.

When he sees Seungcheol standing up properly in front of him, looking like he's waiting for an answer, Wonwoo belatedly realizes that he just asked him something.

"I'm sorry what?" Wonwoo's still practically half asleep. Probably.

"I said breakfast. Will you be awake when i get back or are you gonna go back to sleep?" Seungcheol asks. He has his earphones plugged in his phone now and he slots it in the armband he has on his right arm, earplugs still hanging around his neck.

"I'll probably do some late minute progress on some plates i have. Give me a text when you're on you way back?" Wonwoo suggested. Seungcheol smiles and nodded, he plugs in his earphones in his ears and jogs down the stairs after he wazes Wonwoo goodbye.

Wonwoo lets the first rays of light of today soak in his face and neck before he heads back in his room. He drops the comforter on his bed and decides for a quick bath before doing some work while he waits for Seungcheol. 'Cause, he's not sure if it's the sunrise or not, but he feels hot all of a sudden.

\--

"You're even worse than when you were with us on his birthday, I swear to God." Seokmin says from the other line and Wonwoo rolls his eyes. He then clicked on the video call function on his phone and waits until Seokmin's video buffered out as well.

He's in the middle of lunch and Seokmin's and Jungkook's lunchtime was just about to start so Wonwoo decided for a surprise call. Surprised _ video _ call.

Wonwoo hears Soonyoung snicker from the other side of their table and he lowers the phone a bit to glare at the other boy. Soonyoung smiles his signature smile and gave Wonwoo a finger heart before going back to eating. 

Their usual lunch gang had been out of whack for a week now. Jun was off to who knows where, Jihoon had been living in the campus radio station's building ever since he got a position there, helping out in maintenance hoping that he could be promoted up to higher positions until he's eventually a radio host himself, Hansol had been in a lockdown ever since they started handing out prelim requirements, apparently being a computer engineering prodigy has its downsides too, and Doyoung was running around the school trying to find a story for his anthropology class. _ A story about connecting people and shit _. Wonwoo smiles at the memory.

He and Soonyoung are swamped with work but they usually were allowed to use class time to do their plates so they don't have to sacrifice the only rest hour they have for the day.

Which is why Wonwoo insisted on video calling his little brother now.

"Wonu, you know I love you. But is this really necessary?" Seokmin asks through the phone and Wonwoo sees him walking. He and Soonyoung were on this lowkey cafe they found on the edge of campus called Habit and it is always a guarantee that there'd be seats here so Soonyoung suggested the place today. Which was a great idea cause now Wonwoo's abusing their free wifi.

"Shit." Seokmin says, Wonwoo then sees the screen blur and then turns black a second before the call ended. Wonwoo was about to call back when he received a message from Seokmin.

**Seokmin**

** _Monitor here. will not sacrifice my phone for you and kookie. sorry_ **

Wonwoo groans and pockets his phone.

"Nice of you to finally join me for lunch." Soonyoung says with a smile on his face and Wonwoo glared at him. 

"Shut up." Wonwoo grumbled. Soonyoung laughs.

"Oh! By the way. Taeyong kept asking me for your number. He said he kept texting you but you're not replying? I mean, you gave me the right number, right?" Soonyoung asked and Wonwoo laughs.

"Yeah. I just like riling him up. He's so annoyed." Wonwoo says and Soonyoung laughs. Wonwoo then handed him his phone to see his messages and Soonyoung laughs.

"You're annoying." Soonyoung says. He then looked back down on his phone and stared quietly for a second.

"Who's that?" Soonyoung asked. Wonwoo looked over the table and saw him talking about his wallpaper of Jungkook and Seokmin sleeping.

"The one on the right is my brother. The other one is one of my bestfriends back home." Wonwoo explained. He took another bite of his food and looked up to see Soonyoung still staring.

"What?" Wonwoo asked and Soonyoung kept staring.

"He's pretty." Soonyoung said. He must have realized what he said a second later cause he tensed up and basically threw Wonwoo's phone back.

"Oh really, now? Who's pretty?" Wonwoo teased and Soonyoung actually flushed.

"Shut up." Soonyoung said with a shy smile on his face and Wonwoo laughs.

"I'm serious! I wanna know which one's the pretty one!" Soonyoung groaned and threw a napkin on Wonwoo's face.

"Not your brother...' Soonyoung says quietly and Wonwoo's eyes widened.

"Oh my God, dude. Really?" Soonyoung ignores him and that only urges Wonwoo to tease him more.

"Well, good luck with that. Cheol's already had a massive head start on that." Wonwoo says and Soonyoung looked up at him questioningly.

"Cheol? Seungcheol?" Soonyoung asked. Wonwoo nodded and smiled as the memory of his first day comes back to him.

"Yeah. Found out on my first day here that Seungcheol's first language isn't Korean, it's flirting." Wonwoo joked and Soonyoung snorted.

"Yeah. I can see that. But..." Soonyong was still looking at him with a confused look on his face and Wonwoo laughed.

"What?" Wonwoo asked and Soonyoung laughed as well.

"Well... I kinda thought you and Seungcheol were... I don't know... I thought there was, y'know... something... between the two of you?" Soonyoung says and Wonwoo choked on air.

He coughed for a minute, thinking back on why Soonyoung would even _ think _ that and he guessed he could see how their closeness could be taken in a different light. Seungcheol's been a great and supportive presence in the past month. He honestly thinks he would've taken a bus ride home not even two weeks into classes if Seungcheol hadn't been there for him. But he thinks of Seungcheol as a really great friend. One he made on his own.

"Dude! I'm not gay!" Wonwoo says and Soonyoung's eyes widened.

"Well, shit." Soonyoung says and Wonwoo laughs.

"Yeah. Shit." Wonwoo says and Soonyoung laughs.

"Oh my God! No! I put good money on you two, come on!" Soonyoung says and Wonwoo almost choked again.

"You have bets going on about _ us?! _ With who?" Wonwoo asked and Soonyoung looked like he wasn't supposed to let that bit of information out.

"With the rest of the T-Boys." Soonyoung admitted. Wonwoo silently kills Hansol in his head.

"Minus Hansol." Soonyoung adds and Wonwoo revives mental image Hansol for now.

"But he did know. About the bet. He seems amused by it but not enough to participate." Soonyoung explains and Wonwoo bound mental image Hansol in metal shackles and locked him up in an imaginary dungeon. With rats and cobwebs and all.

"I can't believe this." Wonwoo lets out and Soonyoung had enough decency to look embarrassed. But Wonwoo just know's it's embarrassment for being caught.

"You're straight." Soonyoung says. Like he has to verbally speak it out to make it final.

"Well, actually..." Wonwoo starts. 

Soonyoung's been one of the most constant faces in college so far. They share lots of classes and Wonwoo's pretty sure he can look back on his college years years from now and he'd call Soonyoung his best friend. So he thinks he can't say this out loud. At least to him.

"I'm not... I don't really think I swing..." Wonwoo says. His well rehearsed line not really adding up on their conversation. Soonyoung looked up at him confused and Wonwoo looks down on his plate.

"You know when they ask if you swing this way, or that way... Well I don't. Swing, that is. At least _ i think _ i don't? I dont know. Labels are fucking annoying me." Wonwoo explained and Soonyoung nods.

Then he says a quiet _ ah _ which means he finally understood what Wonwoo meant. There was a small smile on his face as he nods.

"Oh. Okay." Soonyoung says. Wonwoo felt his throat clam up and he doesn't know why he nods but he feels like that's what he should do.

"Can I ask if anyone else knows?" Soonyoung asks and Wonwoo shakes his head no.

"Not really. I'm not really sure about this whole... thing.Like i said, i don't really... I'm not entirely sure if I really _ don't _ swing. Like, at all. So... I've only told you. Not even my friends back home know..." Wonwoo says. 

Soonyoung smiles, nods three times, and then reached over the table to place a hand over Wonwoo's. It's a comforting weight. He feels grounded. He feels like breathing again and he smiles back up at Soonyoung.

"Thanks. For trusting me with it. I'll keep it a secret. Promise." Soonyoung says. Wonwoo laughs quietly.

"Thank you, too. But I don't- I'm not really hiding it. No one asks about it and everyone just assumes I'm straight. Or gay, apparently." Wonwoo says. Soonyoung laughs.

"No. I'm serious. Keep it a secret. If they know you don't swing at all i'm gonna lose money. Good money." Soonyoung jokes and Wonwoo laughs. Soonyoung then explains how Taeyong and Johnny started the betting pools, yes, pools, plural, and Soonyoung listed down every bet they have regarding Wonwoo. 

\--

Wonwoo feels the grass on his elbow down to his fingers and takes a deep breath.

_ He's fine. _

_ Everything's fine. _

He lifts his head and pulls his hood up as he places his bag under his head. He takes a deep breath again and closes his eyes.

  


_ You honestly think all of you would end up as actual architects? _

  


_ Right now I can name a handful of you that would actually be good enough to graduate on time. _

  


_ Some of you don't even have the drive, the want, to become an architect _.

  


Wonwoo groans and places his arms over his eyes. 

"Everything's gonna be fine." Wonwoo whispers and takes another deep breath.

  


His day had been going just fine until his last class for the day. Architectural Design is bound to break him eventually. He just didn't think it'd come this soon.

It was going okay so far, the usual strict reminders of deadlines, the cryptic speeches about board exams and having to always be better than how you are doing today. It's fucking unnerving, yeah. I mean, they're in their freshmen year for fucks sake. But it wasn't anything new to Wonwoo.

What's new is their professor standing up in the middle of their drafting period and walking around the class. Inspecting their work silently, like a vulture ready to nitpick on their works. After walking around everyone, Wonwoo included, he goes back to his table, he stands in front of it and leans on it as he laughs humorlessly.

"Who amongst the class wants to be an architect?" He says out of nowhere. Everyone raised their hands, regardless that some are a bit unsure.

"That's good. That's good." He then takes off his glasses and starts wiping them clean as he looks around the class.

"Now who here thinks they can actually \be\ an architect in the near future?" He asks. Wonwoo gulps and looks around. Everyone was wearing the same unsure expression Wonwoo has on and their professor chuckled.

"It's okay. Come on, you have to know by now if you can be an actual architect or not. Be honest with yourselves."

Wonwoo gulps. He looks around and he sees a couple of guys raising their hands confidently, one girl as well. He sees the girl in front of him raise an unsure and shaking hand and Wonwoo mustered up all the courage he has to raise his left hand as well. He looks at their professor as he puts on his glasses and looks around the room. Focusing one by one on every raised hand. There was around ten raised hand in their class of fifty and Wonwoo feels a cold shiver ran up his spine when his gaze fell on him.

Wonwoo will never forget that look for the rest of his life. The look that's a mix of surprise and sheer amusement. Wonwoo feels so fucking small, like he's not enough. Like he's not enough again. 

He lets his hand fall to his desk as the rest also brought down their hands and Wonwoo feels like hiding in a hole forever. 

"Okay. Quite a number of brave souls in class. I like that." He sweeps quick glances on everyone who raised there hand again and Wonwoo steeled himself as he sees him glance at him a second longer than the others.

"But to everyone who raised their hands. Would you mind standing up for me?" Wonwoo wants to make a run for the door. He had never experienced this kind of unsettling attention before and right now he can just feel both of his seatmates looking at him and the girl in front of him. He sees everyone standing up so he willed his legs to stop shaking and stood up as well. Eyes glued to the board as their professor walks around them again. 

"You honestly think all of you would end up as actual architects?" He asks. Wonwoo grips at the hem of his shirt and tried his best to focus on how to use his lungs properly. 

"I'm not trying to knock your confidence down, here. I honestly am impressed with you lot." He says. He's somewhere behind Wonwoo now and Wonwoo's mind visualizes him breathing down the back of his neck and his mind melts. 

"Right now I can name a handful of you that would actually be good enough to graduate on time." He says. He's closer to Wonwoo now and Wonwoo feels like his knees are gonna give up any second now.

"But I'm surprised with the ones who did stand up." He says.

Does that mean we're not the ones he thinks would make it?

"Some of you don't even have the drive, the want, to become an architect." He says. Wonwoo can see him walking next to him. Doing his best to still continue breathing as their professor chuckles.

"I know a bunch of you with skills, it's hard not to notice. And I'm pretty sure you all have opinions about each other's work by now." He says. He's on his way to his table again. 

"But let's get this out of the way now. Let's make it a known fact for everyone." He starts fixing his stuff, their graded papers piled up in one corner of his table as he places everything in his bag. He zips up his bag, fixes his shirt, then stands up straight in front of everyone.

"Skills can only take you so far. These people, the ones who know they'll make it, the ones who does this for a reason. They're the ones that will make it." He says.

He then dismissed the class and walked out of the room silently.

The room was silent for three seconds, then they collectively let out a sigh of relief. Wonwoo's knees finally gave in and he plops down on his chair. He hears everyone laughing nervously and talking to each other and Wonwoo just feels like he finally doesn't have to manually breath. He feels a hand on his shoulder and he sees his usual seatmate smiling at him, patting his shoulder gently before squeezing it.

"Breathe. Come on." He says. His voice was small and soft around the edges. He also has a sort of accent but Wonwoo ignores it for now.

"I could've sworn you stopped breathing about three minutes ago." He says and Wonwoo lets out a choked up laugh.

"I think I did." He says and his seatmate laughed along.

"Well, you did it. Wait here, I'll get your paper." He says. Wonwoo thanks him and he starts fixing his stuff. Rolling his tracing papers and slotting them inside the cannister and carefully putting all his pens in his case. He was in the middle of zipping his bag when his seatmate came back with his paper.

"Oh, thanks. I didn't think you even know my name." 

"Your penmanship is my favorite in the class, Jeon Wonwoo." He says. 

"And I think I know now why architect Lee was focusing on you earlier." His seatmate says as he handed Wonwoo's research paper.

A big fat seventy nine was written and encircled with a red pen on top of his name with the note _ I expect a much more competent research next time _ on the side. Wonwoo groans.

"Well, that's it. My college life is over before i even got through half a semester." Wonwoo shoves the paper in his bag and his seatmate laughs.

"Dude i'm serious! I have a grade to maintain or my scholarship is bust. I can't afford it here!" Wonwoo freaks out and his seatmate laughs.

"Hey, I get it. Me too, actually. About the scholarship thing." Wonwoo sees the grade on the paper he's holding and sees eighty-eight written on top.

"Wanna like, help each other out? I'm pretty good with concept stuff and research. You're amazing at drafting and I'm absolutely shit at it." He says. Wonwoo eyes him and thinks for a minute. He had a really peculiar and sort of cute pointy ears and his black hair was growing out a bit on the back, almost like an actual mullet. He's dressed way better than Wonwoo's usual hoodie and skinny jeans combo. He has a denim jacket hung on the back of his chair which makes his all black shirt and jeans look even better. Wonwoo sighs and thinks maybe this is a good idea.

"Okay. This is better than always freaking out about deadlines alone, I guess." Wonwoo says. He held out his hand and his seatmate takes it and smiles.

"Oh, I'm Minghao, by the way." His seatmate says and Wonwoo smile.

"Well, I'm Wonwoo. But you know that already." Wonwoo says and Mignhao laughs as Wonwoo shoulders his bag and canister while waiting for Minghao as he fixes his stuff.

  
  


Wonwoo feels someone tapping his forehead and he groans as he swats the hand away. He hears a familiar laugh and groans as he hears him laugh.

"What are you doing sleeping here?" Seungcheol asks and Wonwoo sits up. 

"Just needed some alone time." Wonwoo says. Seungcheol sits down in front of him. His jeans looks like they're on the verge or ripping open as he crosses his legs and leans back with his hands behind him supporting him up.

"What about you? What brings you here?" Wonwoo asks.

"Well, it is a nice day out." Seungcheol says. He tilts his head up but keeps his eyes on Wonwoo.

"Yeah." Wonwoo says. He must've been too obvious with how down he feels cause Seungcheol's face turns from amused to concerned in a matter of seconds.

"Everything okay?" Seungcheol asks and Wonwoo forced a smile and nods.

"Yeah. Just, you know. College." Wonwoo says. Seungcheol gave him a soft smile and nods.

"Well, I'll leave you to it. See you later." Seungcheol says. Wonwoo smiles up at him as he stands up and silently thanks him for giving him more alone time. 

Seungcheol was about a few steps away when his phone started ringing. He reaches for it in the pocket in his hoodie and smiles as he answers it and lies back down.

"You got Seokmin in trouble." Jungkook says from the other line and Wonwoo laughs.

"But I missed you." Wonwoo cooes and Jungkook made a few gagging noise before he hears him groan.

"I'm not kidding! He was caught using his phone and now mom had to get it. He would've called his mom but mom's already picking me up for today, so." Jungkook explained and Wonwoo laughs. He can imagine Seokmin being reprimanded in the middle of their cafeteria and sort of feels a bit guilty. 

"Well. Why were you calling earlier?" Jungkook asked and Wonwoo laughs quietly.

"I told you, I just missed you." Wonwoo teased and jungkook laughed.

"Well, I missed you too. This is gonna be the first pancake cake we'll ever buy without you." Jungkook says and Wonwoo sighs.

"Wait, are you on the way there now? Tell mom I miss her too!" Wonwoo says.

He hears them shuffling a bit before Jungkook laughs.

"Tell her yourself." Jungkook says.

"How's my college boy doing?" Their mom's voice rings through Wonwoo's head down to his heart and he can't help but smile.

"Hi mom. I miss you." Wonwoo says. Both her laugh and Jungkook's mix together through Wownoo's phone and Wonwoo's hit with a heavy pang of homesickness all of a sudden.

"God, I'm gonna sound like a sap but I missed you guys so much. I wish i can just go home tonight and eat dinner in the living room or something." Wonwoo says and he hears their laughter died down.

"I know honey. But I know you're doing great up there! Seokmin keeps us updated. Apparently he gets update from Jeonghan who gets update from your roommate." Their mom explained and Wonwoo snorts.

"His name's Seungcheol. My roommate. But I'm sure Seokmin's already talked to you about his dreamy smile and pretty eyes." Wonwoo says and he hears an offended _ hey _ from the other line.

"Wait, is he there with you?" Wonwoo asks and Jungkook laughs.

"Yeah. He looked lonely and we are missing a person for our three man pancake cake." Jungkook explained and Wonwoo has to admit he does feel a bit of jealousy there. But more on the fact that he's not there, and not because they replaced him with Seokmin. 

"Seokmin, you better be a great proxy for me or I'm disowning you as my child." Wonwoo threatens and their mom laughed.

Seokmin and Jungkook then takes over their conversation and Wonwoo lets them, just laughing along and humming here and there. He then hears them say that they're there and Wonwoo was about to end the call when their mom tells Jungkook and Seokmin to go ahead first and grab a table for them while she says goodbye to Wonwoo.

"You doing okay there, hun?" She asks and Wonwoo has half a mind to lie. But he knew better.

"Yeah. Just having a few minor bumps here and there but my new friends are helping me cope with it all, you know." Wonwoo admits. He hears her take a deep sigh before she starts.

"You know we're only a phone call away, okay? Jeonghan is just a not so long bus ride away from you, you know." She says. Wonwoo smiles.

"I know. I'm just... overwhelmed. Everything's new and it feels like I've been experiencing new things for a whole month now and I keep waiting for everything to just... I'm waiting for everything to be okay." Wonwoo says. He lets out all at once and he closes his eyes as he hear her chuckle a bit.

"I've been waiting for you to call about this ever since I heard about your little sick day." She says. Wonwoo laughs at that and she laughs along.

"Jeonghan's mom told me to just let wait until you call first so it won't seem like i'm babying you so I kind of used your brother as an excuse to call." Wonwoo laughed at that. At least he knows that the longingness isn't just one way.

"But I know you, Wonwoo. You take your time familiarizing yourself with _ everything _ and then that's when you work." She explains. Wonwoo smiles and lets her continue.

"That's when you start using that big brain of yours and doing your best to make everything work. It's how you've always been. You got that from your father." Wonwoo freezes and he hears his mom sigh.

"I remember your first day in your first grade. Your teacher told me that you literally sat at the corner of the room, watching everyone and not talking to anyone for the entirety of your break. And you only talked to one person and that was your teacher!" They both laughed at that and Wonwoo feels lighter already. 

"But this is college. The place is new, the people, your schedule, even your own bed is new. You have to make things work, okay hun? You're gonna hit a few bumps, yes. Some will probably even make you want to quit, too. And I'll be waiting for you by the door and you can cry to me about it." Wonwoo laughs and she does too.

"Right now, you're still in that corner. You're still watching everyone and everything. But eventually you will find your place there, okay? And if you can't find one, then make one." Wonwoo nods, swallows back a sob and kept trying to even out his breathing. 

"You have to know that you can't control every single thing in your life, honey. That's not how life works." She says. Wonwoo takes a deep breath and he hears her sigh.

"I mean, if that's how life works then I wouldn't have a son miles away from me now, you know?" She says and Wonwoo laughs.

"But i am proud of you. I'm so, so proud of you up there and you're doing your best! I just know you are! I'll always be proud of you, okay? Just as long as you do your best, I know you'll be content with what you'll get." She says. Wonwoo honeslty feels like crying right now and she laughs.

"Okay. Your brother's looking a bit weird waving at me from the main door. I'm gonna have to go. Call me later, okay?" She says.

"I will. I love you." Wonwooo says and he hears her laugh a bit.

"I love you, too, my little flower. And remember that a Jeon will do what has to be done, even if it scares us." She says.

"Especially it is scares us." Wonwoo adds and ends the call before her mom hears him crying.

  
  


The street lamps around campus started turning on when Wonwoo was on his way back to their dorm. 

He just lied on the grass staring up at the sky till the sun started setting. His twenty minute walk back to their dorm was calming. He knows wasting a whole afternoon doing nothing is counterproductive but he had already swapped schedules with Minghao and they've already come up with a system to meet at least three times a week. Wonwoo then phones Soonyoung on the way back to ask if he wants to meet up after class every tuesdays and thursdays to review for the upcoming prelim exams and he agreed. Wonwoo has to go up to the library tomorrow to book a room for the rest of the month and he smiles when Soonyoung messages him that he knows someone who works in the library so maybe he can help them out tomorrow with the booking.

Wonwoo pockets his phone when their building was in sight and he sees all the lights on in every room but T-4 and T-8. Wonwoo's not even sure if anyone is roomed there but so far he only knew the other ten people in the building plus Seungcheol. He's gonna have to ask Johnny about that one day. 

He went up the stairs and saw their door opened ajar. Seungcheol really has to learn how to properly close a fucking door. He opens the door, ready to talk Seungcheol's ears off about how easy it is to pull the door closed until he hears it clicks close but stops when he sees him smiling by their fridge. He holds up a finger to Wonwoo and opened the fridge to pull out a plate with a white cake on it and a single candle on top.

"I know it's not your birthday. But I know this is the first you've ever celebrated your brother's birthday alone so i thought this could help." Seungcheol says. Wonwoo steps closer, drops his things on his bed as he takes the plate from Seungcheol's hand.

"Oh my god. Is this..." Wonwoo trailed off as Seungcheol pulls out a plastic knife from somewhere and cuts a slice off. Wonwoo stares as Seungcheol pulls out the piece and it showed five layers of pancakes with a massive amount of frosting in between each layer, making it look like an actual cake. Making it look like the cake he usually shares with his mom and brother.

"Seokmin said something to Jeonghan and Joenghan called me a while ago and-" 

"Oh my God. I feel like crying. _ What the hell?" _ Wonwoo says, barely whispering it over the cake and Seungcheol laughed out loud. 

"I'm trying to cheer you up! That's the complete opposite of what I was going for!" Seungcheol says and Wonwoo laughs. He then feels a tear fall from his eyes and both of them laughed.

"Shit! _ Shit _, you're actually crying!" Seungcheol yells, laughing in between words. Wonwoo balances the pancake cake in one hand as he tries to wipe at his face with his right hand. He was laughing the whole time and Seungcheol ended up taking the cake from his hand and wiping at his face too. He hasn't stopped crying and laughing and Seungcheol tries his best to make him stop.

"Please stop crying!" Seungcheol laughs and Wonwoo laughs harder when his tears just keep falling. He then looks up at Seungcheol and didn't think twice to wrap his arms around his back in a hug.

Wonwoo buries his face on Seungcheol's shoulder as he tightens his arms around him. Seungcheol tenses for a moment before his arms wrapped around Wonwoo's shoulder and one of his hands starts rubbing up and down on Wonwoo's back.

"Thank you." Wonwoo says. It's one thank you for more than one thing.

It's a thank you for the pancakes.

A thank you for knowing when Wonwoo needs to be alone.

A thank you for reminding him to eat.

A thank you for keeping him from pulling an all nighter more than twice a week.

A thank you for keeping him sane.

A thank you for being a great and reliable friend.

A thank you for being there.

  


"If I had known I'd get a hug for a pancake cake, I would've made you one weeks ago." Seungcheol jokes and Wonwoo laughs.

"Don't get used to it. I'm just really emotionally unstable right now." Wonwoo says. Seungcheol pats his back and Wonwoo pulls away from him. Seungcheol's hands were on his shoulders and Wonwoo wipes at his face as Seungcheol squeezes his hands.

"You okay?" Seungcheol asks and Wonwoo nods.

"Good. Want to eat these for dinner? I'm too tired to eat out." Seungcheol says. Wonwoo smiles and an idea pops up in his head.

"Would you mind if i call my mom? I have to show them this." Seungcheol laughs and nods.

"Sure." Seungcheol says. 

He grabs for the plate again and Wonwoo moves all the stuff on his table as Seungcheol drags his chair. Wonwoo sees Jungkook was online and opts for a video call instead. It rings for a while before Jungkook's blurry face comes into view.

"Were you always this annoying on my birthdays? God, you're gonna be a clingy boyfriend." Jungkook says and Seungcheol laughs.

"He'd be a cute clingy boyfriend." Seungcheol adds and Jungkook's eyes widened and his eyebrow quirked up.

"Mom! I think Wonwoo has a boy over in his room!" Jungkook screams and Wonwoo has half a mind to end the call when Seungcheol laughs as he brings the cake over and an extra plate on Wonwoo's table.

"Jeon Wonwoo you better not be pregnant when you come home for christmas or I will never let you go back there again. Do you hear me?" Wonwoo hears their mom scream over the line and Seungcheol sniggers as Jungkook laughs out loud. A few seconds later Jungkook pans out the view from their side and sees the other side of their couch before their mom sits next to him.

"This is Seungcheol. My roommate." Wonwoo says.

"He made me a pancake cake for today." Wonwoo says and their mom coos.

"That's so sweet of you, Seungcheol. Thank you so much for taking care of my baby." their mom said and Jungkook laughed.

"It's not problem Mrs. Jeon. Oh, and happy birthday, by the way." Jungkook smiles.

"Thanks!" Jungkook says and Wonwoo takes a bite of the pancakes. The frosting was amazing. it's definitely better than the one they get every year and Wonwoo hates how good it is.

"Wonwoo cried after I gave him the cake." Seungcheol says out of the blue and Jungkook bursts into fits of laughter as their mom takes the phone from Jungkook as the younger almost falls off the couch.

"I'm tired, I am homesick, and I am emotionally unstable. Have been since last week. It was a natural reaction and I am not gonna let any of you hold that against me." Wonwoo explains and Seungcheol laughs.

"Sure hun. Well, I'm just glad you're not alone up there." Their mom says and Wonwoo smiles. He looks at Seungcheol on his left, forcing a huge bite of the cake in his mouth, and laughs.

"Me too." Wonwoo says.

Wonwoo then tells them about how good the cake is and how the frosting is even better than the ones they get and Seungcheol laughs, suddenly humbles himself down. Jungkook demands a taste of the pancake and the night ended after an hour of Jungkook and Seungcheol exchanging embarrassing Wonwoo moments with Seungcheol getting an invitation to visit the Jeon household with Wonwoo anytime. 

  


\-----

"Wonwoo, I mean this in the nicest possible way. But you are a _ terrible _ mentor." Minghao say with an unimpressed look and Wonwoo sighs.

"I know. But i'm the only one you have so shut it." Wonwoo says as he moves behind him.

"You've got to give me something better than _ do this for fifty times till you have better pen control _. What the fuck even is pen control?" Minghao whines and Wonwoo rolls his eyes.

The two were in the discussion room Wonwoo had booked till october from Monday to Friday, from five in the afternoon till seven at night. Two hours seems so abysmal at first and he almost made it five to nine until Mingyu told them they can only book two hours a day.

Mingyu is Soonyoung's friend who works in the library. He's this tall and tan guy who looks like a model the first time Wonwoo saw him. Soonyoung called out to him and Wonwoo thought he looked like a model in a runway as he made his way to the two of them. Well, he did.

That was before he accidentally trips on a chair and almost tip over the person sitting on it along with him as he fell to the ground.

Soonyoung asked him about booking discussion rooms and it's such a great coincidence that he's the one in charge of signing discussion rooms today. Wonwoo then tells him his desired schedule and Mingyu types it in in no time. Mingyu then asks them to wait a bit as he gets them their pass, which will serve as their kind of entrance pass for the discussion rooms, and Wonwoo asked if he could get three copies. Mingyu smiles and nods. Wonwoo turns to talk to Soonyoung only to see him gazing at Mingyu as he walks away.

"You like him?" Wonwoo says and Soonyoung's eyes widened.

"No." He says firmly and Wonwoo decided not to push it. But he knows he likes him.

Mingyu then comes back a few minutes later with three I.D.s with the number seventeen on it and the time slot Wonwoo asked for. Soonyoung then asked Mingyu for help in looking for this specific book they'll need for a class. A class he shares with Wonwoo that Wonwoo is sure doesn't require that book. So Wonwoo excused himself and lets Soonyoung do his thing as Mingyu trips once again.

  


The door to their room opens and Mingyu emerges from outside.

"I found this book about Graphics and Drafting and thought you'd need it." Mingyu says. Wonwoo smiles.

"Thanks! Just in time, too!" Wonwoo grabs for the book and Minghao groans.

"Hey Gyu." Minghao says and Mingyu smiles and waves.

"I didn't know you know Wonwoo." Mingyu says and Minghao sighs.

"I wish I didn't." He says and Wonwoo taps the book lightly on his head.

"This is a mutualism relationship." Wonwoo says and Minghao rolls his eyes.

"_ Supposedly _." He says and Wonwoo rolls his eyes and takes a seat.

"Brat. How do the both of you even know each other?" Wonwoo asks.

"We share a few classes together. And we're both the same age so." Mingyu explained and Minghao nods.

"Wait, how old are you?" Wonwoo asks.

"We're both nineteen." Minghao says. He's gone back to lettering again and Wonwoo groans.

"Of course. More younger people." Wonwoo says.

"I have a friend who's just eighteen but he's a freshman now. He's a genius, apparently." Wonwoo says. Hansol really is amazing. But Wonwoo once saw him use licorice as a straw for his can of coke so he's a bit wary on that topic.

"Oh, the Chwe dude? Is it Hansel?" Minghao asked and Wonwoo nods.

"Hansol. Wait, you know him?" Wonwoo asked. Mingyu laughed.

"Who doesn't? He has his own page in the school paper." Mingyu says.

"We have a school paper?" Wonwoo asked. Minghao and Mingyu shared a look and Wonwoo rolls his eyes.

"I get it. I'm the stupid one. Anyways. Thanks for the book Mingyu. Now shoo. I don't need you here ganging up on me." Mingyu smiles and waves as he exits the room. Wonwoo was about to continue reading his color theory notes when Minghao slaps a folded newspaper on top of his book. Wonwoo looks up before unfolding the paper and reading the article about Hansol. Wonwoo's eyes widened and somehow he feels like hitting Hansol in the head.

  


\---

"_ Child prodigy submits a groundbreaking prelim output that has professors shocked _.I swear this title is like a youtube video title, or something. You know those clickbait type of stuff." Wonwoo says from where he's lying on his bed as Seungcheol has his head buried in his notes on his table.

"I mean, I knew he was amazing for getting in college at eighteen but _ this?" _ Wonwoo rants and Seungcheol audibly sighs.

"It's cool, though, right? I mean. He's probably those kids who started reading at age three or something and they skip lots of levels, you know?" Seungcheol adds. Wonwoo groans and throws the paper on his table.

He's not really sure why this isn't _ sitting well _ with him. Hansol's a great kid. He's funny and fun, he's down with going out almost every time they go out. He doesn't seem like the type to stay in every night, every time just to study. He's great. 

So why does Wonwoo feel... sour? annoyed?

"Did you know?" Wonwoo asked. Seungcheol snorts.

"That we had a school paper? Yes, Nonu. Since my first week here. You see some of us actually _ experience _ the campus and not just go from dorm to classes then to the library then back to the dorm again." Seungcheol teased and Wonwoo groaned.

"Funny. But no. That Hansol's this brilliant, poster perfect genius kid." Wonwoo says. He hears Seungcheol's chair move and Wonwoo looks over him and sees the elder eyed him suspiciously over his shoulder. 

"Nonu. You sound an awful lot like you're jealous of Hansol." Seungcheol says. Wonwoo gave him an unamused look and went back to staring at the ceiling. He's so not jealous of Hansol.

He's not, right? 

Yeah. Hansol ended up making a program that the school paper dubbed as _groundbreaking_ and _completely_ _innovative_ and he's _only eighteen years of age_ on top of that. Why would Wonwoo be jealous of that? He's never been one to want attention. He sure as hell never wanted to be in the school paper for any reason at all. This is Hansol we're talking about. Wonwoo thinks of Hansol as his other baby brother now. He's a dork, he barely takes anything seriously when they talk, he's the type to make fun of a sleeping Soonyoung in the library.

But he's still brilliant Hansol.

Child Prodigy Hansol. Finishes-his-prelim-requirements-two-weeks-earlier-than-necessary Hansol.

He's _ groundbreaking and completely innovative yet only eighteen years of age _ Hansol.

"Okay. I'm not jealous that Hansol is getting this. He deserves it. He's great and smart and sweet." Wonwoo says. He looks back at Seungcheol and sees him still leveling him with his eyes. 

"But I'm kind of, like, jealous that he's super smart and gifted. Totally not his fault but, come on. He barely even studies and he can do stuff like this." Wonwoo says. He sees Seungcheol give him a kind of stern look and Wonwoo rolls his eyes.

"Nothing against Hansol, okay. I like him a lot. I would say I platonically love him in a no homo way too, but you guys said i can't say no homo since i'm straight. So like in an older brother way, you know? But I mean, imagine being that smart, too. I won't have to stay in every time Johnny and the others go out. I can sleep more, probably. And I wouldn't be having a hard time on my classes too." Wonwoo says. Seungcheol shook his head no and stood up. He walks around his bed and stands by Wonwoo's bed before making him scoot over.

Seungcheol lies down on Wonwoo's right and he hears him sigh.

"Honestly. I'm kind of jealous too. But also, not that much." Seungcheol says. 

"When was the last time you've seen him?" Seungcheol asks and Wonwoo racks his mind for an answer and realizes he hasn't seen the younger for more than a week now. He calls and sends messages almost everyday but he honestly haven't seen him in a while now.

"Johnny called me up one night asking if i knew where Hansol was because he didn't come back. I was about to ask you if you knew when Johnny called back and told me he saw him in the library. I guess that's a downside for having a twenty four hours open library, when someone passes out in there you'd assume he's just resting." Seungcheol says. Wonwoo whips his head to his right and Seungcheol has this kind of sad smile on his face.

"He works non stop, studies for almost twenty hours a day, twenty four if Jihoon and Johnny doesn't make him rest or eat, or even make him take a bath. That article had put so much pressure on him that i'm wondering if the school forgets that he's just eighteen. He's just a kid, Won. When I was eighteen I sleep way past midnight because I'm playing games with my friends. Or I'm out with my friends." Seungcheol says. 

"Jihoon is just as bad. Apparently he's trying to prove how music related courses aren't just a joke and now he's working himself down to the bone as well. I think seeing Hansol passed out in the library gave him a wake up call so now they watch each other. Help each other out, you know." Seungcheol explains. 

"Jihoon was the one who found him?" Wonwoo asks. Seungcheol nods.

"He saw his bag in one of the tables when he was planning to look for a book for some class he has, you know that annoyingly yellow bag he has, and he decided to look for him. Good thing he did, too. He found him on the floor in between bookshelves with his knees folded in front of him and a book in his hands with his head leaning back. Jihoon thought he was dead and called Johnny as soon as he can." Seungcheol explained.

Wonwoo was silent. He has no idea how to respond to that. He sleeps around midnight and wakes up at around seven. Seungcheol makes him eat at least two meals a day. And he had the nerve to think Hansol has it easy?

"I'm not saying this to make you think he has it worse than you. That's not my point. I mean, it's college. That's college, right? Everyone has their own struggles here and everyone handles everything differently. But my point here is Hansol worked himself to the bone. It pays off, yeah. But I hardly think passing out from dehydration in the middle of the library counts as a win." Seungcheol says.

"Apparently he'd been stressing out for weeks now and he thought he'd rather not share that and make anyone else worry about him too." Seungcheol says.

"What i'm saying here is, if you're having a hard time, we're all here for you. Soonyoung would probably understand you more than the others but we're all here for you. Especially me." Seungcheol adds. Wonwoo gulps and nods. 

"I'm serious. If I hear from someone that you passed out somewhere I will personally carry you to each end every one of your classes. I don't give a flying fuck what you think." Seungcheol adds and Wonwoo laughs.

"Sure. Yeah. You too, okay? I mean, It's only fair that you get to rant to me, too." Wonwoo adds and Seungcheol agrees.

"Is he okay now? Hansol?" Wonwoo asks and Seungcheol laughs.

"Oh yeah. Johnny has him monitored all day and they go out for breakfast, lunch, and dinner everyday just so Johnny knows Hansol's eating. Jihoon also threatened to shove food down his throat personally if he skips a meal again." Seungcheol says.

"I should ask Jihoon to scare you too. I mean, he's small but he fucking terrifies me." Seungcheol says and Wonwoo laughs.

"Please, as if you don't fatten me up already." Wonwoo says and Seungcheol laughs. 

"Your mom thanked me about that, by the way." Seungcheol moves a hand towards Wonwoo's cheek and pinched it. Probably remembering his mom's words about how much cheek he gained.

"Apparently, Jeonghan gave Seokmin my number and Seokmin gave it to your mom." Seungcheol says and Wonwoo groans

"I'm so sorry. At least he didn't give it to Jungkook." Wonwoo says and Seungcheol laughs. He unpockets his phone and opens up his messages before giving Wonwoo his phone. 

The screen shows Jungkook's name on top and a string of messages asking stuff about Seungcheol, telling Seungcheol stuff Wonwoo likes and dislikes, like how he doesn't like sleeping with the lights on or with music, that he can't take a bath if there isn't a song playing on his phone, that he hates people sitting on his bed if they're from somewhere outside. Wonwoo laughs and Seungcheol takes back his phone.

"I'm so sorry my family is like this." Wonwoo says and Seungcheol laughs.

"It's okay. I like them. They're loud and overbearing." Wonwoo laughs and Seungcheol laughs along.

"I'm sure your family's a lot more sane, though." Wonwoo jokes and Seungcheol laughs quietly.

"Not really. And I kind of, like... I don't really have one?" Seungcheol says softly. Wonwoo tenses up and looks at Seungcheol beside him.

"Don't. Okay. It's not that big of a deal. I grew up in an orphanage. I was supposed to only stay there till I'm fifteen 'cause, you know, no one really adopts anyone older than ten years old nowadays. But they let me stay there anyways. They paid for my school and they let me help out with stuff after I got home from working somewhere. I got here with a full scholarship and I kind of like to think of the orphanage as my family, you know. Even though it's really not." Seungcheol explains.

Wonwoo feels like his throat is closing up. He has been living with Seungcheol for more than a month now and after all that time he never once thought about Seungcheol's family.

"It's okay. It's not really something that I hide, or, like, deny. So your family constantly checking in on me about you kind of feels nice, y'know. I never knew what it was like to have a mom." Wonwoo's heart breaks a little at that and the small smile on Seungcheol's face makes it hurt even more.

"Well-" Wonwoo starts, his voice breaks so he has to clear his throat before continuing.

"You remember what my mom said before, right? You're always welcome to the Jeon residence anytime." Wonwoo says. He nudges Seungcheol with his elbow and Seungcheol laughs.

"Thanks. I might take you up on that offer, but you're gonna have to let me cook for you." Wonwoo snorts.

"Sure. Good luck with that. I've been trying to help my mom cook for any occasion or holiday and she always chases me out the kitchen with a spatula." Wonwoo says and Seungcheol laughs out loud. They talked for the rest of the night and somewhere around midnight both of them fell asleep. 

Seungcheol ended up rushing the homework he was working on the day after and the both of them go about their day like always, not pointing out how they both somehow ended up sleeping on Wonwoo's bed again. 

  


\-----

  


It's the friday before their prelim week starts and Wonwoo's last pair of contacts dried out, he passed their prelim major plate earlier and he's pretty sure he can kiss his scholarship goodbye. And to top all of that off, somehow, he can't feel his arms.

He lies on his bed, his arms stretched on either side as his sock clad feet are hanging down on the foot of his bed. His hood pulled up his head again as he stares up at his ceiling. Half of him feels like he has a shit ton of shit to do but the other half of him feels so lost on what to actually do. He feels so much yet also feeling so, so empty and he's pretty sure the last thing he remembers eating is a bar of Snickers Soonyoung had to force/hand fed him earlier as he was cramming and adds a few more details on his plate. 

Which reminds him. He has to thank and also apologize to Soonyoung for earlier. Apologize for being such a pain in the ass and thank him for staying with him even though he was being such a pain in the ass. He even walked Wonwoo back to their dorm after he passed his plate even thought he had classes on the other side of campus. 

Which brings us back to this.

This sad, limp looking, black ball of emptiness on Wonwoo's bed.

He hopes his black hoodie would somehow swallow him and take him to a new dimension where college doesn't happen to good people. But he knew the world is too cruel for it to make such a thing happen for Wonwoo. 

Wonwoo snaps out of his trance when the door opens and he feels Seungcheol's smile beaming down on him. Wonwoo didn't have to look up to know that it was Seungcheol. He's pretty sure he knows what Seungcheol's footsteps sounds like now. 

"Well hello to you too, sunshine. Did you manage to finish your plate?" Seungcheol asks as he made his way on his side of the room.

"Barely. But yeah." Wonwoo says. Seungcheol laughs and Wonwoo closes his eyes. 

"That's good! You ready for next week, then?" Seungcheol asks and Wonwoo feels almost twice as tired as he was before Seungcheol came in.

"Not really." Wonwoo answers and Seungcheol stopped moving. 

"Wait. Don't you have that thing with Minghao? Every monday, wednesday, and friday?" Wonwoo's migraine doubles as he sits up and grabs for his phone in his bag and dialed up Minghao's number as he flops back down. It barely rings once when Minghao answers.

"I am so, so sorry. I completely forgot about our review thing." Wonwoo say and he hears Minghao chuckle over the line.

"That's okay. I saw you earlier and kind of assumed you'd be dead till monday." Minghao says and Wonwoo groans.

"I don't look that bad, do I?" Wonwoo looks up at Seungcheol, Seungcheol gave him a once over and gave him his _ I'm too nice to say anything even slightly offensive so i'm just gonna smile _ smile at the same time Minghao responds with a "You kind of did." 

Minghao says he's still gonna use the room to study if it's okay with Wonwoo and Wonwoo gave him an okay. Minghao then tells Wonwoo to rest and they can just meet tomorrow to study. Wonwoo thanks the younger and ends the call. He leaves his phone above his head as he goes back to his original position.

"You doing okay there?" Seungcheol asks and Wonwoo groans as a response.

"Is that zombie talk for 'No.'?" Seungcheol asks and Wonwoo lifts his head to glare at the older. He sees Seungcheol changing his shirt and flops his head back down.

"You going out?" Wonwoo asks.

"Nope. Well, yeah. But not really." Seungcheol says,

"We're filming something for class. Don't ask." Seungcheol says and Wonwoo chuckles a bit at that.

"Cool." Wonwoo responds. 

"You sure you're okay? You're kind of freaking me out here." Seungcheol's voice was closer now and Wonwoo turns his head and saw him sitting on his bed.

"Yup. Just tired. Might sleep through dinner so please don't wake me up." Wonwoo says and Seungcheol rolls his eyes.

"Sleep. I'll wake you up for dinner then you can sleep again afterwards." Seungcheol says as he walks towards Wonwoo and ruffles his hair as he pulls back his hoodie as much as he could given that Wonwoo was lying down. Wonwoo was about to argue but the last hing he heard was him humming in response before everything turns to black.

  


Wonwoo wakes up to a warm hand on the back of his neck and his pillow smushed onto his face. He has no idea how he ended up lying on his stomach but he peaks one eye open and sees it's already dark outside the window. He rolls over and sees Seungcheol smiling down on him.

"You want food?" Seungcheol asked and Wonwoo wanted to say no. He wants to just lie in bed more and sleep until the morning. But his stomach betrayed him and his bed by growling out loud and Seungcheol laughs as he helps Wonwoo sit up. 

Dinner for the two of them is usually Seungcheol's table in the middle of their beds and Seungcheol talking enough for the two of them as Wonwoo just reacts enough for the conversation to still be considered as a two sided one. Wonwoo watches on as Seungcheol moves the table and places a few plastic bags on them before disappearing in the bathroom. Wonwoo scoots closer to the table and sees one plastic bag with two iced tea in them. He picks one and musters up enough energy to bring it up his lips. It's the same one Seungcheol made for him before, the one from Mr Jung's place. He sips at it slowly and he didn't even notice Seungcheol smiling at him from the bathroom door. 

"Rude." Seungcheol teased and Wonwoo was too hungry to feel embarrassed. Seungcheol then takes out a container of pasta, this time it's some red sauce with lots of meat. A container of what looks like rice cakes and another tray of some weird rainbow colored balls.

"That's so fucking cute." Wonwoo says. Seungcheol snorts and sits in front of Wonwoo on his own bed. Wonwoo picks up a green ball thingy and bites it in half only to be surprised that it's something he's tasted before.

"It's bucchi." Wonwoo says. Seungcheol laughs and nods. 

"Yup. They're celebrating their daughter coming out with pride colors." Seungcheol explains and Wonwoo nods while plopping the other half in his mouth.

"Hey, Can I ask you something? It's kind of personal so you don't have to like, answer." Wonwoo starts. Seungcheol stops mid chew for a second and nods.

"Have you always known you were gay?" Wonwoo asked. Seungcheol's cheeks were still puffed out, stuffed with food, but he still managed a small smile. He holds up a hand in as he chews and clears his throat.

"Since I was like, thirteen, I guess? I never really thought much about it before, back then, but one day a couple of women came in and everyone thought they were going to adopt a kid each. Turns out they were a couple. So the kids got to talking about gay couples and all and someone asked \do you think you can handle being attracted to a guy\ and i was just staring at him because my mind was going. _ Well yeah why is it different from liking a girl? _." Wonwoo smiles because that's such a Seungcheol thing to say.

"Around the time I was seventeen, there was this guy who keeps coming in the café I was working in and one day he came in with a girl and it kind of bummed me out. Till the girl came up to me and asked me for my number. She said it's for her friend. But if i don't swing his way then she can have the number." Seungcheol says, he had his smug smile on and Wonwoo rolls his eyes.

"That's the foundation of this whole ego thing, huh?" Wonwoo teased and Seungcheol glared.

"You're such a brat. You won't get a girlfriend if you keep smart mouthing like that." Seungcheol teased. Wonwoo laughed.

"Good. I don't want one." Wonwoo says. Seungcheol visibly stilled mid way into picking up a rice cake and Wonwoo smiled smugly.

"Yeah. I don't want a boyfriend, either. If that's what you're thinking." Wonwoo says before taking a huge bit of the pasta. It was so good and the meat is probably ground beef.

"So you just don't want to be in a relationship or you're.." Seungcheol trailed off.

"I don't swing." Wonwoo says. Seungcheol stared at him for a few seconds before shrugging and going back to eating.

"I have to say, I'm not as... surprised as I think i should be." Seungcheol admits and Wonwoo laughed.

"It's something I've recently thought of, so... Not a lot of people know. Actually, I'm still, like, _ not _ sure? It's just that I've never really been into anyone at all, girls or boys, and there's got to be a reason for that, right? But like, I kinda still want to be with someone. In that way. So i don't know." Wonwoo admits.

"How many?" Seungcheol asked.

"How many what? How many people do I want to be with?" Wonwoo asks and Seungcheol blushes. 

"What? No! How many knows?" Seungcheol asks. 

"Oh, two."

"Two?" 

"Yeah. Two." 

"Two more or two including me?" 

"Two including you. You and Soonyoung." 

"You told Soonyoung before you told me?" Seungcheol's voice raised a bit and Wonwoo laughed.

"It's... I told you it's not really something I broadcast. No one else knows. Not even back home." Wonwoo admits and Seungcheol smiles.

"Now i feel kind of special. I finally have something over Jeonghan and everyone else." Seugncheol says and Wonwoo snorts.

"Soonyoung knew about it first." Wonwoo teased and Seungcheol gave him another glare.

"Well Soonyoung hasn't slept next to you yet so he can fuck right off." Seungcheol said. 

"That was, like, a couple of times, okay." Wonwoo says and Seungcheol looks a thim confused and amused.

"We sleep like this every night, Wonwoo. We don't just.." Seungcheol trailed off.

Ah. Seungcheol meant sleeping with their beds next to each other.

Wonwoo gulps down the food in his mouth before the tension in the air makes him choke on it and takes a sip of his drink before he continues to eat in silence.

They never speak of those _ nights _. Wonwoo's not sure why, and how they just both silently agreed about it, but it's almost taboo to even think about those nights. And here's Wonwoo now, casually dropping it like a bomb. 

Now the night's tilted off kilter. Their room suddenly turning into some sort of liminal space, something familiar with an unfamiliar feeling to it, a place in between something and something else. Seungcheol eats, looking around the room, looking at anywhere and everything but Wonwoo, and Wonwoo's appetite suddenly left him and he's left to stare at half of his pasta still on his plate and the remaining colorful bucchis seemingly staring up at him with sadness to them. 

A few minutes later Seungcheol asks him if he wants to just keep the rest in the fridge and they could eat it tomorrow morning and Wonwoo nods. Seungcheol cleans up the table and puts away the food as Wonwoo fixes the table and went for a quick shower before going back to bed.

That night he hears Seungcheol say goodnight from his bed and Wonwoo, for some reason, pretended to be already asleep and lets the silence of the room answer Seungcheol instead.

  


\-----

  


Wonwoo had just woken up from his prelim-exam-is-gonna-break-me-breakdown-nap when an idea popped in his head. 

It was the friday before their prelim exams and most of their friends are still doing their prelim outputs so he can't call them up. Well, everyone but one.

He sits up his bed, pats down the side of his bed for his phone, and dials up his phone number and waits for him to pick up. After three rings he hears Hansol's voice.

"Hey, you busy?" Wonwoo asks.

"Not really. I'm just catching up on marvel movies. Jihoon says it's unacceptable to not have watched them yet, so here I am."

"Well, pause that for now and get changed. We're going out." 

"What?"

"I know this convenience that sells these really great coffee ice cream and I'm taking you there."

"Oh, really? And I can't say no?"

"I mean, you can. I'd just annoy you by knocking on your door until you go out." Hansol laughs at that and Wonwoo feels light already.

"Give me a few minutes." Hansol says and Wonwoo smiles as he hangs up. He crawls out of bed and changes his shirt for a slightly cleaner one and he figured sweatpants were safe as it is so he leaves it at that as he puts on his shoes.

Twenty minutes later and the two of them were standing in front of the ice cream machine that now has a sign read as "Mango" on top.

Hansol smiles at Wownoo's frown as he pulls him inside the store and hands a basket to him before running around the store with a purpose. Wonwoo looks around and this time he looks around the bread area and he stays there and read everyone and throws in the basket the ones he likes. When Hansol comes up to his side he was holding a squishy bread plushie with a rather cute face and Hansol asks if he's gonna buy it. Wonwoo stares at it for a while before putting it back. He then walks around some more, getting chips and drinks and a few ramen, now that he knows Seungcheol has an electric stove they can use inside the room. When they were paying for them on the counter, Hansol ordered two ice cream cones and paid for them and Wownoo laughs as Hansol hands him the cone with a smile.

They stay outside again and this time Hansol opens up a bag of chips in front of them. They alternate from licking their ice cream and munching on chips for a while, talking about their classes and how tiring they are and they even update each other on their friends. Wonwoo updates Hansol on Soonyoung, Minghao, and Doyoung, while Hansol updates him on Johnny and Ten and Jihoon. Which had Wonwoo smiling.

"Hoonie's fine. He coopes up in the studio most of the times and i have to drag him out so much that people there know me by now." Hansol says and Wonwoo nods.

"What?" Hansol asks, laughing, and Wonwoo shrugs.

"What? I didn't say anything." Wonwoo says and Hansol throws a chip right on his face.

"You and Jihoon?" Wonwoo asks and Hansol smiles as he looks down at their now half empty bag of chips.

"I don't even know, man. I like him. But i don't know if he likes me, yknow? He's just... He's difficult to read sometimes. But, yknow, I like where we are right now. I like us right now." Hansol says and Wonwoo nods, He was half way through munching on the cone when it came up his mind.

"Hey, I heard about what happened. About you in the library?" Wonwoo says slowly and Hansol's smile falters a bit as he nods. 

"It's... I'm better now, really." Hansol says and Wonwoo nods. 

"That's good." Wonwoo says and Hansol nods.

"Jihoon and Johnny helped me out a lot after that. I'm sorry if that-"

"Don't apologize about that. Specially not to me." Wonwoo let out a soft chuckle and Hansol nods.

"But you're doing better now, right? No more skipping meals and not sleeping?" Wonwoo asks and Hansol snorts.

"Haven't you seen Johnny literally try to spoon feed me like a week ago? I feel like they'd actually chew the food for me if they could!" Hansol jokes and Wonwoo scrunches his face at the thought but laughs anyways.

"And Jihoon and I help each other out, you know? He reminds me to sleep, I pull him out to actually get some sun and fresh air."

"And the holding hands? How does that benefit you two?" Wonwoo asks and Hansol's eyes widened.

"Yeah, you two aren't as subtle as you think." Wownoo says as he thinks of the couple of dinners they shared where he has to sit next to them and sees their hands intertwined under the table. Wonwoo doesn't pay it any mind but he thinks its cute to get Hansol riled up.

"Oh, yeah? What about you and Seungcheol? When did that happen?" Hansol asks and Wonwoo stare at him with a confused look.

"When did what happen?"

"Oh come on, dude. You're literally his phone lockscreen, I heard him talk about you to Johnny everytime he passes by our room, and he hovers a lot around you." Hansol says and Wownoo shrugs.

"I can't tell you when it happened because nothing happened. He's just looking out for me. Kind of like how Johnny is to you." Wonwoo explains and Hansol munches on the last bit of his ice cream cone with a smug look on his face.

"What?" 

"Nothing... I mean, you think me and Jihoon are a thing, right?" Hansol asks and Wonwoo nods. Hansol then pulls out his phone and holds it in front of Wonwoo. Wonwoo stares at a sleeping Jihoon in front of an open laptop and he smiles at Hansol.

"And?"

"Maybe Seungcheol isn't like Johnny? Maybe he's more like Jihoon." Wonwoo quirks up and eyebrow and he can feel himself blush when he realizes what Hansol meant.

"You're just trying to brag about your _ boyfriend _."

"Sure, Won. Sure." 

"Shut up." Wonwoo says as he throws a series of chips right at Hansol face.

Hansol laughs as Wonwoo keeps on and it ended up with Hansol accidentally catching one in his mouth. Which lead to them trying to shoot the remaining chips in each others mouth until it became more competitive and they try to throw chips up and catch them in their mouths. Wonwoo hasn't laughed out loud like this ever since the end of prelims snuck up behind him and it's nice. It's also nice to see Hansol acting silly and have fun. It's nice to see him look like a teenager. 

  


\-----

  


After their prelim exams, he declares that exams and major plates were hell and that he wants to sleep for a week. Wonwoo has never felt that kind of pressure before in just one exam and he dreads the exams he's gonna have to take for his finals. He then laughs because he's already crumbling and it's his first semester. 

He lies in bed in his usual clothes when he's trying not to break down, or casual-coping-attire as Seungcheol calls it. 

Black sweatpants and a black sweater or a black hoodie (a black hoodie for today).

He checks Seungcheol's schedule on his phone that Seungcheol sent him and groans when Seungcheol is still in the middle of their practical exam. He groans, feeling tired. Too tired to sleep, even. So he slips in his comfy running shoes, and yes, they're black as well, and pockets his phone, wallet and keys before heading out. 

He walks around their building at first then he started heading for the edge of their campus. A few minutes later and he finds himself in the street Seungcheol took him a while back, he looks around at the food and the people and he's already feeling a lot less suffocated. He walks around for a couple of minutes and ended up going in inside Mr. Jung's store. He sees a few people inside, a couple, a group of four girls on the edge of the cafe, and an old lady by herself at the table closest to the counter.

He walks up to the counter and was surprised when Jaehyun suddenly appeared from under the counter. He takes one look at Wonwoo and immediately smiles. 

"Hey!" Jaehyun greets and Wonwoo smiles back.

"Just you tonight?" Jaehyun asks, looking over Wonwoo's shoulder. Wonwoo nods and Jaehyun nods.

"Well, what can I get you for tonight, good sir?" Jaehyun asks and Wonwoo can't help but laugh a little.

"I wanna try some of the milk tea you have. Any suggestions?" Wonwoo asks. Jaehyun then turns and looks up at the menu behind him over his head.

"Any preference? Sweet? Sweet but not too much? Flavors you prefer?" Jeahyun asks and Wonwoo looks up at the list.

"Well the cream cheese is definitely intriguing..." Wonwoo says and Jaehyun smiles. 

"Well, what about black tea with almond milk and cream cheese." Wonwoo looks up at the menu again and shrugs. 

"Sure. Make it a large one." Wonwoo says. Jeahyun nods. Wonwoo pays for it and Jaehyun asks him if he wanted anything else.

"Oh, yeah. Those chocolate muffins with cheese? Cheol said he bought them here. Those were great." Wonwoo says. Jaehyun laughs and nods. Wonwoo orders a couple and Jaehyun smiles as he adds it to Wonwoo's order.

"You know, Seungcheol made those, right? Like, he was the one who came up with it." Jaehyun says. Wonwoo stares.

"Really?" Jaehyun nods. He tells him his total and Wonwoo pays up. Wonwoo stays by the counter as Jaehyun started with his drink.

"You know, I've been meaning to ask this and I hope it's not rude." Jaehyun says. Wonwoo nods.

"Are you two really not, like, a thing?" Wonwoo stares and Jaehyun laughs when he glances at Wonwoo.

"I don't mean anything by it, really. It's just that, I think Seungcheol likes you a lot. I'm just not quite sure if it's still platonic, you know?" Jaehyun says. And no, Wonwoo doesn't know. 

"Honestly, I like him a lot, too." Wonwoo says. Jaehyun whipped his head and Wonwoo smiled.

"I Iike him a lot as a friend. I've never really been great with people and I don't know. He's just easy to hang with, you know. And he's sweet and really, like, understanding." Wonwoo explains. Jaehyun's confused face turns into a neutral one.

"Yeah, I get what you mean. He's pretty great, really. I used to have this massive crush on him, actually." Jaehyun turns so his back was facing Wonwoo. Which benefited Wonwoo because he's pretty sure he can't hide how surprised he looked.

"He was so weird last year, asking for a job here, then he kept on telling my grandad how to cook his own recipes. He was really weird." Jaehyun says. 

"But one day he asked to try to make something and I asked if I could stay and watch and he let me. He was trying this pineapple loaf he thought of and he was just, in his own world when he cooks. Then he asked me for help and told me how to grease the loaf pan with melted butter. I'm sure he didn't do it intentionally, but he did the cliche stands-behind-you-and-grabs-your-hand-and-he-does-everything-anyways move." Wonwoo rolls his eyes. Of course Seungcheol would do that. 

"But yeah. We worked in the kitchen for months. Together. Which made me realize that I do look up to him but not in a romantic way." Jaehyun says. He places the finished drink on the counter as he takes a paper bag from under the counter and heads for the rack of muffins. Wonwoo saw him place three inside the bag and gave Jaehyun a look. Jaehyun rolls his eyes and pushed his food into his hands. 

"The third one is payment for you shutting your mouth about the crush thing. Also I made the third one. It's a cheese muffin with chocolate chips." Jaehyun winks at Wonwoo and Wonwoo rolls his eyes.

"You two are perfect for each other." Wonwoo teasses and Jaehyun laughs. 

"Have a good night Wonwoo." Jaehyun says. Wonwoo says his goodbye and headed outside, sipping on his drink as he walks around. 

Wonwoo picks up a muffin from inside the bag and slips his hand through the handle so it can stay on his wrist as he eats on his walk home.

He thinks of Seungcheol on his walk back. Active, loud, energetic Seungcheol who deserves a better childhood. Seungcheol who wakes up earlier than sunrise and turns heads wherever he walks. Seungcheol who's been nothing but reliable and understanding to him since he's met him. He hasn't met anyone like Seungcheol before and it's funny because he's not really sure how to describe what Seungcheol is like. 

Now he thinks of how the deep flavor of the chocolate muffin fits so well with the richness of each bit of cheese Wonwoo gets in every bite. He thinks of how the difference in flavor makes both of them stand out even more. And somehow he thinks _ that's exactly like the Seungcheol i know _.

Whoever that may be.

  



	2. Midterm

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Wonwoo finally feels like he's finally catching up on college but somehow he feels like life is catching up on him too.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Before anything else, I just want to say that this fic is literally just self indulgent. And also I either write fluff or smut or both in a jumbled mess of soft smut so this whole chapter is gonna be called ATTEMPT AT ANGST. 
> 
> gonna have a little insight on why Wonwoo is the way he is, more insight on their friendships, and try to understand where Jihoon is coming from, okay? 
> 
> and uh like I said, self indulgent fic.
> 
> Fun fact: this fic was originally titled Catch 44 and then Starved... ٩(●˙—˙●)۶

The first week of their midterms snuck up on Wonwoo somehow and he finds himself in the discussion room with Minghao, Jihoon, Hansol and Soonyoung. Wonwoo had called up Hansol one day and had told him about the room and extended an invite to him if he wanted to join in. Hansol thanked him and told Wonwoo to expect him there the next day. Wonwoo was only a little bit surprised to see Jihoon trailing behind Hansol as they came in the room. Wonwoo and Minghao asked each other questions, reviewing each other, as Jihoon reads and revises his note while Hansol types away on his laptop. Mingyu must've told Soonyoung about it cause he kept whining about not being invited the day before and Wonwoo rolls his eyes saying he  _ was _ invited but he was the one who said he was busy. 

So now their discussion room has five people every Mondays, Wednesdays, and Fridays. While Teusdays and Thursdays are an open door kind of situation. Minghao has classes by the time they're there but his professor barely comes in so no one expects him to be there but no one's surprised if he was. Hansol's there almost most of the time, he says it beats working from his dorm table with Johnny hovering over him, and Jihoon comes every time but only comes in at around six every thursday. Doyoung is the most random one cause he literally just comes and goes as he pleases. Wonwoo can't see pattern and he won't tell them his schedule either. 

Right now Minghao is doing some free hand practice by looking up pictures on interiors in random books and doing a copy of it in one of his sketch pads. Jihoon had his nose on his laptop as he and Hansol share a bud each of the same earphones as Hansol reads a book about software programming or something. Soonyoung is doing a plate on an A3 size parchment paper for additional credit. He's not failing but he says it's gonna pull his grades up higher. And Wonwoo, for the first time since August, actually has nothing he has to do.

And it's freaking him out.

"Will you stop that?" Minghao says. Wonwoo's not sure if it's directed at him so he points a questioning finger at himself.

"Yeah. You. Stop it." Minghao says without looking up.

"I'm not even doing anything!" Wonwoo argues.

"Then stop doing  _ nothing _ !" Minghao retorts back and Wonwoo scoffs.

"What?" Wonwoo sees Jihoon and Hansol look up from what they're doing and watches on as Minghao huffs.

"You look weird just sitting there and  _ scanning _ us." Minghao says and Soonyoung snorts.

"It's kind of cute." Soonyoung says.

"He kind of reminds me of those meerkat things in Lion King." Hansol says and Jihoon snorts.

"He does kind of look like one. He has the neck for it." Jihoon adds and Wonwoo lifts an offended hand over his neck.

"You do know that you all wouldn't even be in this room if it weren't for me, right?" Wonwoo argues and they all just collectively shrugged. 

Wonwoo, feeling defeated, stands up and says he's gonna look for a book to read. Minghao tells him to do some advance reading for their Theory of Architecture class and Wonwoo groans. He was hoping to just read a  _ book _ book not a textbook book. But he closes the door behind him and headed straight for the Architecture wing.

Wonwoo was five minutes into browsing with three books in one hand when someone cuts into the corner and bumped into him. He manages to balance the books in his hand but the one he was reaching for drops to the floor. He hears the man apologizes and he freezes when he recognizes the voice. 

"Up for some advance reading, Mr. Jeon?" Architect Lee says, reading the title of the book he picked up. Wonwoo gulps. He smiles nervously as he nods.

"I'm glad to hear that." He says. Wonwoo doesn't know what to do. Does he say thank you? Or just nod? Does he ask for book recommendations? 

"Architect Lee, can I ask you something." Wonwoo blurts out without thinking. His professor nods as he hands Wonwoo the book.

"Did you know you'd be an architect on your first year?" Wonwoo says. He tenses when he sees his professors surprised expression. 

Great.

Wonwoo's gonna be kicked out of uni after surviving a third of a semester. 

Soonyoung's gonna be eating alone now every Thursday.

Hansol's probably gonna cry when he leaves.

He's not sure but he thinks he will.

He and Seungcheol would have to video call every night instead and Jungkook's gonna have to be the one to finish college first while Wonwoo builds up a career somewhere else. It's not impossible. He knows most of the successful owners of businesses nowadays didn't even come from a successful academic background.

He's gonna have to start a graphic design studio.

Or an art gallery.

Something.

But his professor's soft chuckles brought him back to the present and Wonwoo stares. He wasn't sure if architect Lee was capable of positive emotions. 

"You're something else. But if I were to be honest with you, the answer would be no. I reached the fifth year of my college life thinking I'm not ready to be an architect. Not yet, anyways. I graduated, then found a job, then I Passed the board exams and became an architect. After that I was invited to teach part time in my alma mater and, well, here we are." Wonwoo nods.

He has absolutely no idea where he's going with this but he certainly did not think he'd hear a sort of summarized version of his college to work life. 

"You're a great student Wonwoo. You do well in class and you always give outputs that meets expectations of you." Architect Lee says. Wonwoo feels a small balloon of pride swell up right in between his lungs and he can't help the smile on his face.

"But you have to exceed expectations, Wonwoo. You always have to be-" 

" 'Be better than the me yesterday.' Yeah. I know." Wonwoo cuts in and he takes pride in the slightly annoyed smile in his professor's face.

"Word of advice. Smart mouthing your professors won't make them like you." Wonwoo tenses again and architect Lee smiles.

"But it sure as hell leaves quite an impression." Architect Lee says as he walks away. Wonwoo sees a book in his hand and wonders if the faculty here are allowed to borrow books. 

Wonwoo comes back to their room and sees Minghao on the seat next to Soonyoung as the two of them double teams Soonyoung's plate. Hansol had his head rested on of his left arm that's folded on top of the table besides Jihoon's laptop, he seems to be looking at Jihoon as Jihoon types away on his laptop and Wonwoo's not sure if he's seeing something there but he lets it go when he sees Hansol's right hand tugging at the frayed ends of Jihoon's sleeves. Wonwoo drops the books on the table which earned him a glare from Minghao and a pout from Soonyoung as the two of them look up. Wonwoo apologizes and starts flipping through the pages of the first book. He has half a mind to dig through his bag and use one of his notebooks to make notes but he decides to just skim through the books now, check them out later, and make notes back in his room. Their minor plate to be passed next week is a restaurant kitchen so he's gonna have to take advantage of Seungcheol's course and annoy him later on.

  
  


\---------------

  
  


It was on the monday of the last week of September when Wonwoo finds himself in a bus with Soonyoung typing away on his phone, looking for the place he wanted to go to. Wonwoo had scolded him for not looking for it before they got on the bus but Soonyoung just pouted and apologized and Wonwoo gives in.

Soonyoung had dragged him to go to dog cafe, for some reason, and Wonwoo just stared at him and wondered why the hell does Soonyoung think he'd come. But he eventually does agree when Soonyoung practically begs him to come. Wonwoo didn't know why Soonyoung was so adamant on bringing Wonwoo but he just smiled and nodded when Soonyoung said they're meeting up with Mingyu. 

"I can't believe you're making me third wheel your date." Wonwoo teases and Soonyoung nudges him with his elbow as he scoffs.

"It's not a date. He just asked me to check it out." 

"Wait, Mingyu asked you to go on a date and you dragged me to it?"

"He didn't ask me out! Shut up!" Soonyoung argues and Wonwoo rolls his eyes. 

"What exactly did he say?"

"Well, he asked if I wanted to see this dog cafe in town and I said yes and i asked if i should bring someone or-"

"Oh my god. Soonyoung!"

"What?"

"He was asking you out! Just the two of you! And you suggested to bring someone! Oh my god, you're an idiot."

"Stop yelling at me I'm sensitive!"

"Poor Mingyu. You better not use me as a buffer between you two." Wonwoo says and Soonyoung huffs and pockets his phone.

"Do you really think he was asking me out?"

"Honestly, yes. And then you go and turn it into a hangout with the bros. You're hopeless." Soonyoung then groans and Wonwoo laughs.

Soonyoung pulled him by the wrist as they got off the bus stop and he brings out his phone and navigates using a map. Wonwoo looks around and sees Mingyu standing by the sidewalk as they take a turn and Wonwoo feels a bit sorry for him. Mingyu was obviously dressed up for the day. But in a way that makes it look like he's effortlessly dressed up. Light blue denim jeans that matches his denim jacket and a white shirt underneath. Wonwoo smirks as Mingyu sees them and almost bumps into someone walking by. That's when Soonyoung looked up his phone and Wonwoo tried his best not to laugh when Soonyoung almost drops his phone. Mingyu stays put but bounces on his heels as they walk towards him and they greet them happily, saying he reserved a table for them already. Soonyoung beams and Wonwoo wants to pull out his phone and record everything because they're both just so painfully obvious. When Soonyoung walks in the door, Wonwoo pulls Mingyu by the elbow and Mingyu looked at him with a nervous look.

"Don't worry. He wanted this to be a date as much as you did." Wonwoo says and Mingyu blushes instantly. He then smiles and nods.

"I'll distract myself with dogs, don't make me suffer for nothing." Wonwoo adds and Mingyu laughs as they head in.

And Wonwoo kept his word.

They ordered a drink each and Wonwoo stayed back before ordering his so Mingyu could pay for his and Soonyoung's drinks. They got a table at the very edge of the room and Wonwoo watches as the two of them take a seat and a small dog walks up to Soonyoung, sniffs his knee as he sat cross legged, and then promptly jumped on his lap. Soonyougn smiles and cooes at the puppy and Wonwoo pulls out his phone to take a picture of Mingyu's lovestruck face. He honestly looked like he's about to melt at the sight of Soonyoung with a puppy and Wonwoo sends it to Mingyu immediately. Wonwoo then takes his drink and walks up to their table to see Mignyu flushed pink as he glares at Wonwoo. 

Wonwoo stayed on their table for a whole five minutes before he completely gets distracted by the other side of the cafe. There was a weird looking fence in the cafe and Wonwoo saw other people enter as well and then all of a sudden he sees a girl carrying a cat and he interrupts Mignyu and Soonyoung's conversation.

"Wait, is the other side a cat cafe?" Wonwoo asks Mingyu and Mignyu smiles and nods.

"Yeah. We can go and-"

"No need. You two stay here with my drink. I'll just go check it out." Wonwoo then turns to Mingyu and gave him a smile as he stands up and heads to the door. 

The cat side was the same, save for the cat tower and a bunch of beds on one of the walls. Wonwoo absolutely did not squeal when a cat immediately brushed up his leg and stares up at him. It was a really fluffy orange tabby and Wonwoo read its tag and it's name as Bread. Wonwoo sat down in front of it and pets its head softly. It purrs at Wonwoo's touch and Wonwoo wants to cry. 

He found a spot at the floor on the corner and stayed there for who knows how long. He lets Bread lie down on his lap as other cats roam around him. There was a black one that was on one of the beds on the wall that was just staring at Wonwoo the whole time with it's tongue out and there was a small kitten in one of the beds that was mewling for a while. One of the staff walks up to it and she smiles at Wonwoo as she carries the kitten in her arm and feeds her with a bottle.

"I see Bread has taken a liking to you." She says and Wonwoo smiles as he runs his hand over Bread's fur.

"This one's Chocho. She's just a month old." She then shows her to Wonwoo and Wonwoo smiles at the small white kitten with a bottle in its mouth, her paws up as she drinks.

"Do you want to try?"

"Can I?" Wonwoo asks and She kneels in front of Wonwoo and carefully hands the kitten over to Wonwoo's arms. Wonwoo takes the bottle in his hand and he cradles the kitten as the staff stands up and smiles at him. 

"She's gonna want to play afterwards so please be careful." She says and Wonwoo thanks her as she walks back to the counter.

So Wonwoo spend the entire time there feeding the kitten, then taking the bottle away when it's done and playing with the kitten the entire time. She likes playing with feathers most of all and Wonwoo just endures her claws digging in his skin as she climbs up his thighs and tumbles next to Bread on his lap. He then jumps on top of Bread and plays with her ears as Bread just stares up at Wonwoo.

"What? She likes you." Wonwoo says. Bread then stands up and lets Chocho fall on Wonwoo's lap as she jumps off of Wonwoo's lap and sits right in front of them. Chocho then kept calling out to her and rolling around Wonwoo's lap and Wonwoo takes out his phone and records everything. 

It was maybe ten minutes later, or maybe half an hour later? Or maybe even longer, when Wonwoo hears someone taking a picture of him as Chocho climbs his shirt. He looks up and sees Mingyu and Soonyoung by the door with Soonyoung's phone out and pointed towards him.

"We're leaving?" 

"Yeah. We have to catch the bus back to campus. Last one's leaving around twenty minutes." Mingyu explains and Wonwoo tries not to frown.

Wonwoo then gently pries Chocho out of his shirt and holds her gently as he stands up and puts her back in her bed earlier. He pets her one last time and smiles as she purrs before walking towards the other two. 

Before Wonwoo could get out though, he sees Bread looking up at him and he leans down to pet him as well before going out. Wonwoo smiles at the girl behind the counter and he followed Mingyu and Soonyoung to a corner with hand sanitizer and a lint roller was and waits for his turn. 

On the bus ride back home, he lets Mingyu and Soonyoung sit next to each other as he takes the seat across the aisle from them. His phone then vibrates, notifying a message, and he opens it to see Seungcheol has sent him a picture. He opens it and sees himself playing with Chocho while Bread watches them, but the picture was a screenshot showing the picture was used as a phone wallpaper. Wonwoo rolls his eyes and sent the emoji that was rolling its eyes before telling Seungcheol that they're almost back on campus and then locking his phone. 

  
  
  


By friday, he was on his way to the library when Jun calls him up and rants about, well, he's not exactly sure what he was ranting about. 

"Okay, back up a bit. Are you complaining about aquariums or are you like, appreciating them?"

"Both!"

"Right."

"Look, If it weren't for aquariums, I wouldn't have been able to see penguins and otters, you know? Animals that are in the  _ wild  _ wild. But knowing how some facilities treat their animals is so sad! Did you know that most whales, if not all of them, are kept in water that's like, bathtub size for them? Bathtub!"

"Yeah, I think I've heard of that, Jun."

"See? It's not fair."

"Yeah, I know." Wonwoo then lets him rant some more as he goes inside the library and he smiles at the security guards by the door. He takes the stairs up to the second floor to keep Jun in line and just as he sees Doyoung waiting by the door, Jun says his goodbye and promptly hangs up. 

Wonwoo keys in and sighs as he pockets his phone.

"That was Jun, wasn't it?" Doyoung asks and Wonwoo turns to see him smiling.

"Yes." Wonwoo says as he pushes the door in.

"Yeah? What was he talking about?"

"Aquariums. And how they should be stopped, I think." Wonwoo says and Doyoung laughs as they take a seat.

"Did he reach about the part where he talks about Finding Dory?" Doyoung asks and Wonwoo looks up at him to see him smiling. 

"No?" 

"You mean not yet. You'll get there eventually. What about the otters?"

"He mentioned otters. About how he wouldn't have seen otters if it weren't for aquariums?" Wonwoo says and Doyoung nods. He pulled out his laptop out of his bag and smiles at Wonwoo as he opens it up.

"He talks really well and really fast korean when he wants to." Doyoung says and Wonwoo laughs.

"Yeah." Wonwoo agrees. They then settled over a comfortable silence after that until everyone starts piling in one by one. 

Hansol comes in with Soonyoung not long after and Jihoon comes in a few minutes after six. Jihoon plops down next to Hansol and Hansol smiles at him as Jihoon drops his head on the table. Wonwoo tries not to watch and redirects his attention back to his notes. But he sees Hansol's hand brush over Jihoon's head and he looks up and sees Hansol putting an earbud in Jihoon's ear as he goes back to typing. Wonwoo looks around and sees Doyoung see it too. He catches his eyes and Doyoung smirks. Wonwoo puts a finger over his lips and then holds an invisible zipper over his lips and zips it shut. Doyoung rolls his eyes and shakes his head as he smiles before going back to whatever he was doing. Soonyoung then calls for Wownoo's attention and asks him something about their assignment he Wonwoo helps him through it. 

  
  


\------

Wonwoo is drunk.

Well, more like tipsy now, after all the food. But he feels drunk, in a way.

Wonwoo is aware that he's drunk but he is also still aware of his surroundings. He's aware enough to, well, to move his lips along with theirs in a totally consented kiss.

Wonwoo's mind buzzes and reels back to the start of the day. 

  
  
  


He woke up to Seungcheol coming back from his morning jog, reminding him of their night out with the boys and adds to  _ make sure you wear something cute. But not too cute _ . Wonwoo throws a pillow at Seungcheol's general direction and it flops to the ground as Seungcheol laughs. Wonwoo checks the time and tries to list down everything he has to do for the day.

-Breakfast with Johnny, Hansol, Jihoon, Ten, and Seungcheol. 

-Buying more drafting materials into town with Soonyoung and Minghao, then lunch after. 

-Interview with the cafeteria chef with Minghao. 

-Then going out at night with the, stupidly called, T-boys.

  
  


Breakfast was fun. They met up in front of their dorm and decided to just eat breakfast in the cafeteria. Johnny and Ten were definitely flirting now. They've moved past the stolen glances and hidden smiles and Wonwoo's glad, if he was being honest. It was almost like the four of them weren't even there. Jihoon quietly picks at his food as Hansol tells the table about this weird dream he had the night before and everyone laughed when he stopped mid sentence only to say he forgot the korean word for bread. Seungcheol kept nudging his shoulders everytime Wonwoo's head drops and bit, a bit of his drowsiness from the night before still left in his system. They finish after an hour and walked back to their dorm in pairs. Wonwoo pulls Hansol and walked behind the others and asked him about Jihoon. Hansol didn't answer but he smiles and looked down on the ground as they walked. If that wasn't answer enough, Wonwoo doesn't know what is.

Wonwoo took a shower and the song playing on his phone stops abruptly and he hears his ringtone starts. He dries his hands and accepts the calls. Minghao says he's on his way to their dorms and Soonyoung still isn't answering his calls. Wonwoo tells him he'll call him up after his shower and Minghao stops talking. Minghao then says a quick goodbye and ends the call. Wonwoo rinses and changed into a shirt and a fresh pair of jeans and pockets his wallet and phone and grabs for his canister before saying bye to Seungcheol. He goes out and knocks next door loud enough to wake Soonyoung. Doyoung opens the door with an annoyed look and moves aside to let Wonwoo in. Soonyoung was still in the bath and Wonwoo and Doyoung talk while he waits. Wonwoo asks if he knew where they were going later and Doyoung says Taeyong was just gonna take them for a drink somewhere. Soonyoung finishes and Wonwoo rushes him even more just to laugh at Soonyoung whining and sort of panicking as he picks up his stuff.

They get to the town closest to their campus by eleven. They drove by the motel they stayed in on Wonwoo's first day here and he smiles as they passed by. He gets the front seat because Minghao likes sitting in the middle of the back seat while Soonyoung drives. Minghao tells them where the cheap stationary store was and Soonyoung smiles as he parks. They end up buying enough sheets of parchment and tracing to last them the semester because Soonyoung says it's more economical that way. No driving back and forth. But Minghao knows the two were just excited by the prices that's almost half the price of the store on campus.

Lunch was fun. Minghao had talked the most, about his room, his family back home, his exes.

"Last boyfriend had no idea how to use his tongue. And my last girlfriend, I was pretty sure she was only in a relationship with me  _ because _ of my tongue." Wonwoo snorts and Soonyoung howls with laughter. The tables around them give them annoyed but entertained looks and Minghao smiles proudly at the reaction.

"I've had like, one ex. And we broke it off because he's a douche. Kept pushing sex like, everytime we're alone." Soonyoung says and Wonwoo gave him a wary look.

"Mingyu is a complete upgrade compared to that." Wonwoo says and Minghao chokes. Right.

"No." Soonyoung says to Wonwoo. He then lifts a finger to both Wonwoo and Minghao as he repeats no, over and over again.

"You are so crushing on Mingyu, oh god. This is  _ gold _ !" Mignhao says and Wonwoo laughs. Soonyoung whines, frustrated, and throws a soggy fry at Minghao.

"What about you, Won?" Minghao asks. Soonyoung gave Wonwoo a cautious look and Wonwoo smiles.

"I don't really have an ex. Never really had a chance to date, and stuff. And I don't necessarily think I do want to date... and stuff." Wonwoo says and Minghao smiles up at him.

"That's cool. Have you  _ tried _ it though?" Minghao asks and Wonwoo shrugs.

"He doesn't have to try it to know he doesn't like it." Soonyoung says and Wonwoo smiles at the defensive tone in his voice as he says it. Minghao nods and shrugs.

"I mean, yeah. I'm not saying you have to like, have to have sex and not like it to know you're asexual or anything. But i know this one kid who thought he was asexual but turns out he wasn't after he was comfortable enough with his girlfriend to do it." Minghao explains. Wonwoo takes in that information and Wonwoo nods.

"I guess. I haven't even had my first kiss yet, actually." Wonwoo voices out. Which is true. Technically true. Soonyoung stares and Minghao stares with amused eyes.

"No way." Minghao says and Wonwoo threw one of Soonyoung's soggy fries at Minghao too. Their lunch ended up half an hour later when Minghao says their interview is in an hour and they need to get there at least ten minutes before because the lunch lady was mean and Minghao swears she's evil somehow. So they ended up paying, Wonwoo and Minghao splitting Soonyoung's lunch since Soonyoung drove them and wouldn't take any gas money from either of them, and Soonyoung only realized he didn't pay halfway back to the campus, when he hit the breaks all of a sudden and whips his head to Wonwoo saying he commited a crime. Minghao was in a giggle fit the entire way back as Wonwoo explains to Soonyoung what happened. 

Minghao and Wonwoo did their interview easily. Well, Wonwoo tried to make it easy. 

The interview started out a bit, off. They were talking to the head staff in the kitchen and he kept giving Minghao pointed looks whenever he speaks so Wonwoo took over the interview and Minghao took pictures and measurements around the kitchen. An hour later and Wonwoo was walking the younger back to his dorm and Minghao was obviously upset about the whole ordeal. It's only been a month since he started hanging out with Minghao but he's picked up on a lot wary looks and condescending smiles whenever Minghao's korean spills out with a bit of an accent. Wonwoo does his best to glare at everyone who so much as makes Minghao uncomfortable but today he felt like he didn't help that much at all. He asks Minghao if he wanted to join them later that night and Minghao declines. He asks him if he's really fine and Minghao did his signature eyeroll and smirk before thanking Wonwoo for walking him and then shoving him away. Wonwoo laughs and Minghao says he'll do the drawings for their research and Wonwoo can do the written part. Wonwoo agrees and went on his way back to their dorms.

He's behind schedule.

It's almost six when he runs up the stairs to their room and he sees Soonyoung looking out the window of their room, already dressed. Soonyoung tells him to hurry up and Wonwoo flips him off. Soonyoung laughs and Wonwoo burst in their room, knowing full well Seungcheol doesn't know how a door works, and he wished he hadn't. 

Seungcheol was on his bed, just his skin tight black jeans on and nothing else as he hovers over what looked like Taeyong lying on his back. Seungcheol's knees were on each side of Taeyong's hips and Wonwoo could still see drops of water on Seungcheol's skin and hair meaning he's just gotten out of their bathroom. Both of them whips their head towards Wonwoo and Wonwoo let out a groan before he could stop himself.

"It's not what you think." Seungcheol says. Taeyong snorts. Wonwoo moved to his cabinet and picks his usual clothes. A fitted shirt and skinny jeans. 

"I'm not thinking anything. You do you. Or him, apparently. I don't care." Wonwoo says and he tries to convince himself that he really doesn't. He's not  _ supposed _ to care.

"So we can continue?" Taeyong asks and he hears them flounder on the bed. Wonwoo lets out an annoyed scoff and turns to see Seungcheol shoving a pillow on Taeyongs head as Taeyong thrashes on the bed. 

"Hey, as long as you're not doing it in my bed, I'm cool. And maybe give a guy a heads up, next time? I would rather not see you two in the middle of a  _ session _ ." Wonwoo says and he feels himself let out a deep sigh and he mentally scolds himself. He toes off his shoes and socks and throws his canister on his bed before going inside the bathroom and playing something loud on his phone. Anything that's loud enough to make Wonwoo stop thinking of Seungcheol on top of Taeyong.

He finishes his shower in record time and puts on his clothes only to see he got the wrong shirt. It's one of those sleeveless shirts that are open down to Wonwoo's sides that he usually wears under his sweaters or jackets. He grabs his phone and goes out. He sees Seungcheol fully clothed on his bed and he stares at Wonwoo as Wonwoo goes back in front of his cabinet. Just then the door opens and Soonyoung beams at him as he looked him up and down.

"What the fuck, Jeon. You look hot." Soonyoung says and Wonwoo snorts, he's about to grab for a shirt when Soonyoung moves in and slaps his hand.

"Oh no." Soonyoung then starts looking through his hoodies and jackets and pulls out an old denim jacket. 

"This. Goes well with the emo punk rock shit you got going on. Damn." Soonyougn says as he stares at Wonwoo. Soonyoung visibly and shamelessly checks him out and Wonwoo wants to choke him right on the spot.

"You know. What Minghao says about  _ trying it  _ if you want to be sure?" Soonyoung asks. His voice a bit lowered so only the two of them can hear. Wonwoo nods as he puts on the jacket. It's a great fit and not that hot. And lots of pockets too. 

"Well, all I'm saying is I'm willing. And i mean i would be  _ glad _ to volunteer as tribute." Soonyoung says. Wonwoo took a second to understand what he means and he stares at Soonyoung with terrified eyes.

"Shut up!" Wonwoo says. He pushes Soonyoung out of the room and sat on his bed to put on his shoes.

"The black high cut converse." Seungcheol says. Wonwoo looks up and Seungcheol was still seated on his bed.

"They'd go great with your look." Seungcheol says as he stood up and went out of the room. Wonwoo sees Soonyoung by their door waiting for him as Seungcheol goes out. He grabbed for his high cuts took Seungcheol's advice. He looks up and grimaces when Seungcheol's unkempt, messy bed seems like it's mocking him somehow. Wonwoo grabbed for his glasses, wallet, and phone before locking their room on his way out.

They didn't actually  _ go out _ go out. They walked out of campus and Wonwoo walked alongside Hansol, Jihoon, Jun, and Soonyoung. Ten and Johnny walked with their hands swaying in between them, Kun and Doyoung were on either side of Yuta, an arm each around their shoulders, and Seungcheol and Taeyong leading the way. Wonwoo pulls Soonyoung back so they were behind the rest and tells him about what he saw earlier in his room. Soonyoung snorts and Wonwoo gives him an annoyed look.

"Well, they're both very attractive and very single men, Wonwoo. What do you want me to say?" Wonwoo lets out a frustrated sigh.

Soonyoung has a point. 

Well, sort of.

What exactly did Wonwoo want to hear from Soonyoung? What exactly is the reaction he wanted to hear from others? And the fact that no one seems fazed by Taeyong and Seungcheol walking pressed close to each other is somehow making him even more riled up.

But he has no idea why.

He wallows in his own misery as he listens to Soonyoung talk about Mingyu, as usual, and he looks ahead. He sees everyone walking ahead. Jun with his arm slung around Hansol's shoulder as Jihoon laughs along to them. Kun trying to tie Yuta's hair in a small ponytail as Doyoung smiles widely at them, and...

And Seungcheol's hand on Taeyong's back pocket. 

He lets out another involuntary scoff and Soonyoung stops mid sentence. Soonyoung then looks at where he's looking at, and he hits Wonwoo in the back of his head.

"Stop staring." Soonyoung says.

"I'm not." Wonwoo says. You know, like the liar that he was. 

"Sure, and I'm not completely head over heels for Mingyu." Soonyoung says. 

"Hmm. Sure." Wonwoo says, his eyes still glued to Seungcheol's arm.

"You're not even hearing me right now." Soonyoung says. Wonwoo nods and belatedly realizes what Soonyoung just said.

"You're so weird." Soonyoung says. And that's coming from Soonyoung. Wonwoo tells him to shut up and Soonyoung does exactly the opposite. 

A few more minutes of walking and they turned inside a very narrow alley. Soonyoung's train of thought derailed from its usual Mingyu Express Lane and he starts mumbling about how creepy the place is. They paired up by two to walk ahead and Wonwoo sees Taeyong open a door to their left and disappears inside. One by one they get in and Wonwoo and Soonyoung were the last in and they closed the door behind them. They were faced with a set of stairs and they can hear music blasting above getting louder and louder the more steps they climb past. 

It was a studio type place. Just one huge open area with three cement walls and the far end was a floor to ceiling glass wall where the last bits of sunlight pour in inside the room, giving the place stretched out and eerie shadows. They weren't the only ones there, too. Wonwoo sees Johnny and Ten, Yuta, Taeyong, and Seungcheol walk up to random people as they dispersed in the room. There were at least two dozen people inside, some were seated on the couches pressed against the walls, some were standing up by their makeshift D.J.'s table, and a couple of girls were taking pictures of the sunset outside. 

They stood still by the door, none of them really knowing where to go and who to approach, until one girl walks up to Hansol and asks if he was  _ the _ Hansol. Jihoon snorts beside they younger and Hansol nods. Jun pulls Kun towards the table on the far end of the room filled with food and Doyoung follows them inside. Soonyoung nudges Wonwoo with his elbow and motions towards the table to their right. There was an actual keg of beer there and a blonde girl was holding up the hose. Wonwoo pats Jihoon's shoulder as they made their way towards the table and Jihoon gives him a nod. A crowd of four guys and three girls have surrounded Hansol now and Jihoon seems amused by it all.

Soonyoung stops by the table to grab a cup for him and Wonwoo and approaches the girl.

"You sure you wanna start off with beer instead of food, like your friends over there?" She says over the music. She motions for Jun and Kun eating by the table as Doyoung talks to the guy standing by the table.

"We want a little bit of a head start." Soonyoung says over the music and she smiles at them.

"Well, I can't argue with that logic." She says. Laughing.

"I'm Chungha, by the way." She says, tucking her hair behind her ear. Wonwoo and Soonyoung introduces themselves and she motions for Soonyoung to give her his cup and Soonyoung lifts it closer. Wonwoo notes at how pretty she looks with the pinkish light of the sunset streaming in and bouncing off of her face. Soonyoung then moves aside when she tops off his cup and Wonwoo pushes his cup closer to her. 

"You guys look like you planned your outfits." Soonyoung says. Wonwoo looks at her outfit and she's wearing a loose, black shirt that exposes her right shoulder, tucked in a pair of black skinny jeans with a denim jacket tied on her waist. He looks up at her face at the same time she looks up at him and they both laugh.

"Oh my God! We do!" She screams. Wonwoo laughs it off but she's already walking around the keg and giving Soonyoung her phone.

"Can we please take a picture. This is just awesome!" She says and Wonwoo nods. Soonyoung takes the phone and Wonwoo has no idea what to do with his body. She stands on his right and placed her elbow on Wonwoo's shoulder and Wonwoo smiled at the camera.

"No! Don't smile! Look fierce! Give me that face you do when I annoy you!" Soonyoung yells over the music and Chungha laughs for a couple of seconds before she composed herself for the pic. Wonwoo gave Soonyoung a bored look as Chungha went back to her pose and Soonyoung took the shot. 

"Oh my God. You two look hot!" Soonyoung says and Chungha thanks them. She takes her phone from Soonyoung and the two of them moves away from her and towards the food. 

"You're blushing." Soonyoung points out with an annoying grin on his face and Wonwoo laughs.

"Look, I know i said i don't swing either way but I can still identify attractive people who I am in no way near their level." Wonwoo says and Soonyoung laughs.

They get to the table and Jun asks Soonyoung where they got the drinks and ran off after he saw Chungha and the keg. Doyoung then moves towards them with the guy in tow and he introduces them.

"So these are Wonwoo and Soonyoung. Guys, this is Minhyuk. He and some of the others here go to the same uni as us!" Doyoung explains and Minhyuk grabbed Soonyoung's hand to shake and then Wonwoo's. Wonwoo stares at his large eyes and pretty smile, his silver hair falling around his face like actual silk framing his face.

"Nice to meet you guys." Great. He sounds pretty too. 

"Oh, wait. Hey Hyungwon! Come here! I made some new friends!" Wonwoo looks at who he's talking to and he sees the D.J. walking up to them. He had his headphones around his neck and was just wearing a plain black shirt and pants but Wonwoo was positively star struck.

This night is gonna be exhaustingly long. 

And he was right

Because it's only half an hour past ten and Wonwoo is tipsy.

He was blissfully tipsy. 

  
  


Half an hour after they came in was when the party actually started.

The sun was completely set, Minhyuk disappeared along with Hyungwon and turns out he's handling the lights as Hyungwon goes back to the turntable and get the party started. Wonwoo was dragged to the middle of the room by Soonyoung to dance and he downed the remaining half of his cup in one go. If he's gonna dance, he's not doing it sober. 

But after one song, Soonyoung is nowhere to be found. Wonwoo was about to move back to the couches when he sees Chungha in the crowd. He can't hear a single thing she says but it looks like she's just asking him to dance with them. Wonwoo smiles and he has no idea what got into him but he did dance with her. Wonwoo laughs as she and her other friends starts doing random viral dances and loses it when Chungha hit the woah by flipping her hair first. Then it was his turn to dance in their little circle and he thanks the stars for Jungkook for teaching him this years ago as he starts doing the dougie. They all erupted in a mix of cheers and laughter and one by one all of them danced along. Wonwoo was absolutely, positively drunk already, but he's having the best time right now. 

People then started cheering around them and Wonwoo sees Hyungwon smile at them before slowly transitioning the song to a familiar one.

"This one's for our very own queen. Blondie, this one's for you." Hyungwon says and Chungha laughs as he hears the song. Wonwoo watches as he steps back to give Chungha space and everyone around them does the same. Wonwoo's not sure what song it was but he knows it's a Beyonce song. Chungha started swaying and moving her body to the beat and Wonwoo watches in amazement as Chungha's hair flows around her like some kind of veil and at one point Chungha walks, or more like struts, towards Wonwoo and places a hand on his chest. Wonwoo can feel everyone's eyes on them, on  _ him _ , and he freaks out.

He's drunk but not drunk enough for this.

He wants to curl up in on himself and hide from the attention. Chungha then smiles and lifts her hand on Wonwoo's hair and ruffles it a bit before she moves back and starts dancing again. Wonwoo cheers along with the rest when Chungha finishes and she waves at Hyungwon when the song transitions to a different more up beat song. 

Chungha pulls at Wonwoo's wrist and pulls him along as she made her way out of the crowd. She then brought him towards the keg table again and she goes around the table, moving past the guy holding the hose, as she grabs for something under the table. She came back up with two bottles and pulls Wonwoo to the couch this time. Wonwoo waits for her to sit before he sits next to her and she moves close to his ear before talking.

"You okay? You look a little out of it for a second there." she says. She pulls back and Wonwoo laughs. He leans in her ear before answering.

"I'm not really that experienced with girls dancing in front of me. Or just girls in general." Wonwoo says and he hears Chungha's laugh in his ear.

"I thought you were gonna cry! You look scared when I moved closer!" She says and Wonwoo laughs. 

They spend a good hour in that couch, Wonwoo sees it's almost nine when he checks his phone, Chungha giving him a bottle of water, and they exchange stories. How Chungha only dances for cute boys or girls, how Wonwoo  _ doesn't swing any way _ , Chungha telling him he can't use that specific phrase every time and she laughs when Wonwoo tells her of Soonyoung's offer just earlier this afternoon. Chungha then asks if he can take his jacket off and Wonwoo eyes her cautiously.

"Your friend over there," She motions for the table where Seungcheol and Taeyong were standing by, "has been glaring daggers at me all night. I wanna see how he'll react to you taking your jacket off. Come on. Play along, make it look like we just want to match outfits and tie it around your waist." Chungha says and Wonwoo laughs. He's not sure if he meant Taeyong or Seungcheol, but either way it's hilarious to Wonwoo seeing that they were literally in the middle of making out when Wonwoo burst in their room.

He shimmies his shoulders to pull his jacket off by the sleeves. He then faces away from Chungha and she pulls the jacket back by the collar. Wonwoo then takes the jacket from her and tied it around his waist. They were still seated so it's not that obvious, but they really do match. 

"It worked." Chungha says. Wonwoo looks back and sees Taeyong glaring and Seungcheol was nowhere to be found. 

"You are evil." Wonwoo says and Chungha gave him a sweet smile.

"Why, thank you, good sir. I try my best." She says. She then stands up and offers a hand to Wonwoo. Wonwoo rolls his eyes and takes it. Chungha ended up introducing Wonwoo to a whole lot of people. Girls and guys alike. 

She's so cool and social and Wonwoo has no idea how they've gotten close so fast. They've spent almost all night together and Wonwoo's not freaking out at all. They only ended up separating when they were by the food and she had to go to the bathroom. He checks his phone and he sees the time is half an hour past ten.

  
  


It's half an hour past ten and Wonwoo is tipsy. He was blissfully tipsy. 

  
  


"Well, well, well. Mister talk of the night is finally free. Think you can spare us a minute?" Wonwoo hears from behind him. He turns and sees Soonyoung and Taeyong smiling at him. He smiles back at first, then glares at Soonyoung.

"You? No. You left me alone earlier." Wonwoo says and Soonyoung pulls a hilarious thinking face. 

"Didn't seem like you needed me, to be honest. I thought you said you hated crowded things like this?" 

"I Do. But tonight is fun and i only freaked out once so... And it's your fault I was with Chungha since then!" Wonwoo says and Taeyong snorts.

"You should  _ thank _ him then." Taeyong says. The music turns up again and Wonwoo hears everyone in the middle of the floor cheer. 

"What the hell should I  _ thank _ him for?" Wonwoo yells over the music and Taeyong rolls his eyes.

"For hooking you up with the hottest girl here?" Taeyong says and Wonwoo... well, Wonwoo stops.

Something about what Taeyong said didn't sit well with Wonwoo and he feels some sort of anger lighting up in his chest.

"First of all, her name's Chungha. She's not just some girl Soonyoung  _ hooked me up with _ ." Wonwoo says. He turns and grabs his bottle of water from the table behind him before giving Taeyong a leveled glared.

"And  _ she _ saw me looking like an idiot  _ alone _ earlier so she stayed with me. Then she saw how uncomfortable I was and calmed me down. After that we talked and got to know each other and she's cool!" Wonwoo says and he can see Taeyong looking a bit confused as to why his tone was as heavy as it was. Wonwoo saw Chungha making her way back and Wonwoo would rather not introduce her to Taeyong.

"I'm gonna go. I'm tired." Wonwoo says. He didn't wait to hear what the two of them were gonna say as he walks up to Chungha.

"Hey! I'm gonna head out now!" Wonwoo screams over the music. Chungha mouths, asking if he's okay and Wonwoo laughs before nodding.

"I'm beat. I can't keep up with you." Wonwoo jokes and Chungha laughs. Chungha then lifts a finger for him to wait and she pulls out her phone. She taps on it for a short while before handing it to Wonwoo. Wonwoo sees it's the new contact function and smiles. Wonwoo raises a teasing eyebrow at her and she rolls her eyes and urges Wonwoo to move faster. After Wonwoo had saved his number Chungha pulls him close for a selfie and Wonwoo closes his eyes as he smiles, only opening them when the bright flicker of the flash passes through his eyelids. Chungha pulls him in for a hug and Wonwoo hugs back awkwardly. Wonwoo feels a few heavy gaze on them and he realizes that they're in the middle of the room. She walks him out, even went down the stairs with him and Wonwoo tells her she didn't have to.

"I'd be a shitty host if I didn't." Chungha says and Wonwoo stares.

"Wait, what? You're hosting this?" Wonwoo asks and Chungha looked at him half surprised and half entertained. 

"You're really something. Yes, dummy." She says and Wonwoo rolls his eyes. He unties his jacket off of his waist and puts it on as the chill of the night air blows in his face and Chungha smiles at him from the doorway.

"I'm gonna call you sometime tomorrow and you better pick up." Chungha says and Wonwoo laughs as he nods. She waves once more before closing the door and Wonwoo turns to walk ahead. 

He walks for a total of around five minutes and somehow he found himself on the corner of Mr. Jung's place. He pats himself for his phone, wallet, keys, and walked on when all were present. He smiles at the vendors who seems to recognize him now from the amount of times Seungcheol had dragged him up here and walks faster towards the warmth of Mr. Jungs place. 

He walks in and he's surprised to see Jaehyun on the counter. A bandanna tied on his head, pulling back his hair, and his usual black shirt loose on his shoulders. 

"Hey." Jaehyun greets. Wonwoo greets back.

"Just you again tonight?" Jaehyung asks and Wonwoo nods. He moves up the counter and Jeahyun smirked.

"Having a fun night, i see. Well, see and  _ smell _ ..." Jaehyung says and Wonwoo looks at the other, terrified, and sniffs his clothes. 

"Hey, I'm not judging. But you should probably not walk back alone like this." Jaehyun says. Wonwoo smiles sheepishly and Jaehyung snorts.

"Sit down Wonwoo. I'll give you some coffee and food." Jaehyun says. Wonwoo was about to argue but Jaehyun says he'll put it on Seungcheol's tab before disappearing inside the kitchen. Wonwoo smiles and takes a seat by the window.

He stares outside, watching people walk around with food or drinks in their hands, some holding hands with someone else and some were even walking around in groups.

He stares at the store in front and sees the store Seungcheol usually buy bucchi from. Their small booth still looks the same save from the small rainbow flag at the end of their overhead signage. He sees the man that usually works there wiping at the counter in front of them and sees him laughing at something the girl over the counter said. He had her hair tied up in a bun and her face was animated as she tells her dad something. Maybe it's a hilarious story, or an elaborate joke, Wonwoo's not sure. But Wonwoo stares and wonder what it's like.

What it's like to love like that. 

To love in general. 

He remembers the day Jungkook came home from school with his cheeks flushed and hair a mess. He said he made out with someone, a guy from their club. He remembers him saying he liked it, and then smiling, grinning widely at Wonwoo as he gushes about him. Wonwoo doesn't actually remember what Jungkook says back then but he'll never forget how happy Jungkook was. He was so thrilled about it that he retold the same story to their mom when she came home for dinner. Wonwoo wants to know what that's like.

Wonwoo sees the way Johnny puts an arm around Ten any given time. An arm slung around his shoulder, a hand on his waist as they wait in line, now they're even holding hands almost every time Wonwoo turns to them. Then there's Jihoon and Hansol, too. Jihoon thinks he's subtle about it, or maybe he is, but Wonwoo's picked up on it. When they're in the library after class and Wonwoo stops mid way on his plate to rest his eyes and hands only to see Hansol sleeping on the table as Jihoon pushes the hair out of the younger's face. Or when they go out for food and Hansol gives in to Soonyoung's stupid antics and they both take half of their burgers in one single bite and Jihoon pulls a disgusting face on Soonyoung first since he's seated in front of him but smiles fondly as Hansol tries to chew his food while trying not to laugh out loud at Soonyoung's puffed out face.

He sees it in Soonyoung, too. But this one was a bit sadder than the rest. His lingering looks as Mingyu passes by their room in the library, this thing he does where Wonwoo can be talking about literally anything and Soonyoung would find a way to connect it to Mingyu, and even just the way he  _ looks _ at Mingyu when he talks is so painfully obvious that he  _ likes _ him so much that Wonwoo feels secondhand heartbreak whenever Mingyu calls Soonyoung his  _ friend _ . Which Soonyoung should really not take to heart given that Mingyu hates that word as much as he does.

Wonwoo came to terms with not liking anyone years ago. He's not really that fond of sex, given the amount of knowledge he has about sex. The idea of being with someone like that, just the thought of being naked in front of  _ someone _ has Wonwoo shaking. At first he thinks it's commitment issues, then after that he thought it was just him projecting some sort of abandonment issues rooted from his dad somehow. But every time Wonwoo thinks about being with somebody like that, like they'd mean more to you than usual, like they're someone you'd drop anything for, he can't think of anyone looking at him like that. 

Wonwoo has had years to think about this. He had wanted nothing but to talk to this about Jeonghan but there's something in him that keeps stopping him. Until one night he asks Jeonghan if he could be his first kiss. He said he didn't know if he liked boys or not so he wants to make sure. But he wants his first kiss to be special, still. Jeonghan smiles at him then and they sit next to each other for a few minutes on Wonwoo's bed before Jeonghan turns Wonwoo to face him, asks him if he's ready, and slowly pulls him in for a kiss. 

It was okay, as far as first kisses go. Barely lasted five seconds but Wonwoo knew then that he didn't necessarily like it. He didn't hate it, but he's pretty sure he doesn't like Jeonghan that way. He voices it out to Jeonghan and the elder laughs.

"Well, I certainly did." Jeonghan says and Wonwoo flushes. 

Both of them then decided to not call it their first kiss since it's just them trying it out. Jeonghan must've taken that as his way of saying he's straight and Wonwoo realizes now that maybe he should've been more specific. 

He's brought back to the present as he hears a plate slide onto his table. He hadn't noticed how he had leaned down on the table and rested his head on his arms so he sits back up abruptly and Jaehyun laughs.

"Food. You're in a way worse condition than I thought." Jaehyun says. He then places two cups on the table and puts the tray on the table next to them as he takes the seat in front of Wonwoo.

"Cheesy chicken baked macaroni with extra sauce. Don't worry, Cheol's pretty detailed on how i should make this, so." Jaehyun says and Wonwoo smiles. He thanks Jaehyun for the food and digs in as Jaehyun took a sip from one of the cups. Jaehyun laughs as he inhales half the plate in less than a minute. Wonwoo feels himself blush and apologizes as he wipes his mouth with the sleeve of his jacket.

"It's fine. You seem like you'd need more food to sober up, though." Jaehyun says and Wonwoo laughs.

"More coffee's fine." Wonwoo says and he takes a sip from his cup.

Wonwoo looks over the brim of his cup and sees Jaehyun looking out the window, the light from the street bouncing off his cheeks and Wonwoo places his cup down and clears his throat.

"You like guys, right?" Wonwoo asks. His filter still not functioning as well as it's supposed to in his still half drunk state. Jaehyun leans back, folding his hands in front of his chest as he smirks at Wonwoo.

"So the stomach really  _ is _ the way to a man's heart, huh? Seungcheol's gonna love this." Jaehyun says and Wownoo realizes belatedly how Jaehyun could've taken what he said in a different way and he almost chokes on air.

"No! Not like that! I mean... I just assumed from what you and Cheol talk about, y'know. And like, I wanted to maybe ask? Something?"

Jaehyun eyes him for a moment and laughs. 

"Yeah, sure." Jaehyun says. Wonwoo takes another sip of coffee and hopes it helps him reorganize his thoughts better to not make a fool of himself.

"I think something's off. Like, like with me. My brother always talk about boys he's crushing on, my best friends too. And I've never really had a problem with it until now." Jaehyun's expression turns into a somber one, more serious.

"Problem with what, exactly?" Jaehyun asks. Wonwoo shifts in his seat and stares down on his food.

"I don't... I can't really say, like, you know... Just... earlier. I saw, like, Seungcheol and another guy. They were on his bed. You know..." Jaehyun nods in understanding.

"Ah. Okay. I see. And did it make you uncomfortable?" Jaehyun asks. Wonwoo can't bring himself to answer properly but he nods once.

"This was in your dorm? You're roommates, right?" Wonwoo nods. Jaehyun looks like he's fighting off a smile but Wonwoo thinks he's just still drunk. Jaehyun then leans forward and nods in understanding.

"Hey, that could just mean you just didn't like them doing it in your room, you know? Like, It's a shared room and all." Jaehyun says.

"Yeah. Yeah, it could just be that. Maybe it's just hygiene?" Wonwoo says.

"Yeah. Could be." Jaehyun mimics and Wonwoo stares at his coffee.

He's pretty sure it's not just that. 

He's even more sure about it once he got back in their room.

He and Jaehyun talk for almost half an hour. The shop only getting five more customers and only buying food to go so Wonwoo really had fun talking with Jaehyun. When Jaehyun's sure Wonwoo can walk home alone, he made him walk in a straight line, forwards and backwards, made him count to fifty and back, asked him the korean for some english words. And after that whole ordeal was done Jeahyun waves at him from the shop door and Wonwoo smiles. Jaehyun did say the food was on Seungcheol's tab but Wonwoo slipped in his payment under his plate when Jaehyun wasn't looking. Wonwoo's learned from Seungcheol that the people working this business won't accept money that easily if you know them, so, Wonwoo had to find a way. 

Fifteen very cold minutes later and he trudges up the stairs to their door. 

Wonwoo was tired. 

He's gone out and drank, he actually  _ interacted _ with people. And he had a lot of good food. So his bed is the only thing he wants right now, shower be damned. He hears Seungcheol talking animatedly through the slightly opened door and Wonwoo groans as he opens the door.

"You know, it's really not that hard to close a fucking door." Wonwoo says to Seungcheol. Then he sees Johnny and Taeyong seated on either sides of him on his bed and Hansol, Soonyoung and Jihoon were seated on his. Seungcheol then got up and stomped his way up to Wonwoo's face with a glare. Wonwoo's sure he was about to get punched so he's a bit taken aback when the elder just hugs him tightly.

It was awkward, to say the least. Seungcheol held him for almost half a minute and Wonwoo stares at the other over his shoulder. Before he could ask any of them what's happening, or ask any of them for help, Seungcheol pulls back and hits the back of his head.

"Where the hell have you been! We've been looking for you for an hour now and I thought you- You just go out of the party, alone, and then disappear to God knows where! I mean, seriously! You're supposed to be smart, Wonwoo! What were you thinking!?" Seungcheol yells in his face. Wonwoo stares in shock and horror as Seungcheol seethes and he looks over the elder's shoulder to see everyone with relieved and amused looks on their faces.

"Everyone out. It's late." Johnny says. He pulls Hansol and Jihoon follows suit. Taeyong and Soonyoung looks like they wanted to say something but they followed the others out as well. Wonwoo looks up at Seungcheol, still glaring down on him, and asks him what's happening.

"What's happening? Are you  _ serious?!  _ I am so close to losing my shit here because I thought something bad had happened to you. You're so full of yourself, you know? Walking out of the party, not even bothering to tell us where you were going. Oh, and parading yourself in the party? Real classic." Seungcheol says. Wonwoo feels himself getting annoyed at the elder but he tries to calmly answer.

"I told Taeyong and Soonyoung i was going. I went out for food because I was hungry and I couldn't eat at the party because Taeyong and Soonyoung were... And I didn't  _ parade _ myself in the party. If you want to talk to someone about public decency, you should probably learn more about it, yourself." Wonwoo answers back. He pushes through Seungcheol and goes for his clothes.

"What the fuck is that supposed to mean?" Seungcheol says and Wonwoo lets out an annoyed sigh.

"Look, all I'm saying is that the next time you're gonna have a guy over, at least give me a heads up. I live here too, you know?" Wonwoo says. He's about to get in the bathroom when an arm pulls him back by his shoulder.

"What?! Seriously? That's what this is about?!" Seungcheol screams and Wonwoo shoves the elder's hands off of his shoulders.

"That's not what this is about! This isn't even about  _ anything _ , okay? Can we just... can we do this in the morning? I'm tired and I just really want to sleep." Wonwoo grumbles as he moves towards the bathroom. Seungcheol cuts him off and closes the door. Leaning back on the door.

"No! We are having this conversation  _ now!" _ Wonwoo groans and throws his clothes on his bed.

"Fucking fine! You wanna talk? Then talk!" Wonwoo yells and Seungcheol just looked even more annoyed.

"Are you hearing yourself right now? We were  _ worried _ about you and you're throwing a fucking tantrum!" Seungcheol says and Wonwoo want's nothing more than to shut him up.

"I never  _ asked _ you to worry about me. I didn't  _ ask _ you to look for me. And I most certainly  _ did not _ ask for you to hover at me like i'm some kind of dumbass kid!" Seungcheol laughs at that and Wonwoo wants  _ nothing _ more than to shut him the fuck up. 

"We worry about you because we're friends! We're your friends, Wonwoo! We were looking for you because we didn't want you to end up in a sidewalk somewhere with a knife in your gut or something! And not once did I, or any of us, treat you like a kid!" Seungcheol says, he was more controlled now and that just makes Wonwoo even more furious.

"Oh you don't? The constant hovering? The regular updates? All the fucking time you ask me wehre i am when i'm not where i'm supposed to be?  _ Knowing where I am and where I'm supposed to be? _ " Wonwoo yells and Seungcheol takes a deep breath.

"What? Do you actually think I'm helpless or something? Needs special attention or something like that? What?"

"Can you shut up?" Seungcheol says, he's moving away from Wonwoo now and Wonwoo's not having it.

"Oh no. You wanted to talk so lets fucking talk!" 

"I'm doing that to... I'm just looking out for you! Okay?" 

"I can look out for myself. I'm not an idiot!"

"Stop saying you're not an idiot! I know you're not an idiot" 

"Then what's up with all the fucking attention?! You act like i can't tkae care of my self and it's fucking annoying! I can take care of-" 

"It's because I like you! Okay? I have for a while now! And you're so fucking insufferable and  _ dense _ and, and, and youre just  _ you _ ! It's fucking annoying and,  _ and confusing _ , okay!"

Oh.

_ Oh _ okay...

Wait.

Wait, wait, hold up.

_ What? _

"You what?" Seungcheol sighs. Wonwoo's mind buzzes for a second.

"But Taeyong-"

"Taeyong was here earlier because i was talking to him about you. Like I always do. I keep telling him I don't have a chance but I can't tell him about your sexuality so he just thinks I'm being a wimp. Which I sort of was. I am. I was trying to shut him up earlier because he said I took too long to shower because i was thinking of..." Seungcheol flushes and Wonwoo stares with wide eyes.

"I tried to shut him up right after I got out and then you came in through the door and saw  _ that _ . Then Taeyong fucking adds fuel to it and you..." Seungcheol trails off. Wonwoo stares at the elder as he looks at anything and everything but him. He fidgets with his hands and Seungcheol looks like he's about to cry.

What the fuck does Wonwoo say to that? 

What does he do? 

He tries to processes everything Seungcheol says but his mind stuck to a couple of things.

_ It's because I like you! Okay? _

_ Taeyong was here earlier because I was talking to him about you. Like I always do. _

_ I like you! Okay? _

"You're  _ laughing _ . Oh my god, you're actually laughing." Seungcheol says and he sits on his bed with his face in his hands.

"No. No no no. I'm not! I'm just-" Wonwoo tries to hold back the smile on his face and he can't help but laugh at himself. At everything.

"Stop laughing at me!" Seungcheol whines and Wonwoo laughs even more when Seungcheol threw a pillow at him. Wonwoo laughs harder as he walks closer to Seungcehol and kneels in front of him. 

"I'm not laughing anymore. Look." Wonwoo holds onto Seungcheol's wrists and tugs them off. He looks up at Seungcheol with a blank face but he breaks into a smile when he sees Seungcheol's eyes tearing up.

"Stop crying!" 

"  _ 'M not crying!" _ Seungcheol argues as a couple of tears fall down his cheeks. Wonwoo's mind goes back to his and Jaehyun's conversation earlier as he lets go of Seungcheol's wrist in favor of wiping Seungcheol's face clean.

  
  
  


_ "Hey, that could just mean you just didn't like them doing it in your room, you know? Like, It's a shared room and all." Jaehyun says. _

_ "Yeah. Yeah, it could just be that. Maybe it's just hygiene?" Wonwoo says. _

_ "Yeah. Could be." Jaehyun mimics and Wonwoo stares at his coffee. _

_ "Or," Jaehyun starts, "maybe you're jealous?" Jaehyun offers. _

_ "Jealous? Of him bringing some guy in our room? I'm not. I'm pretty sure I'm not. Yeah." Wonwoo says. Jaehyun eyes him for a moment and then leans closer. _

_ "Look, I'm gonna be honest with you, The first time I met you I thought you two were, like, together.  _ Together _ together." Jaehyun says. Wonwoo's eyes widened in surprise and he's pretty sure he can feel himself blush at the thought.  _

_ "And I can tell you right now that he likes you, we've talked about this before. Or maybe  _ liked _ you? Given the guy in his bed, y'know." Jaehyun says and Wonwoo's mood deflates as quickly as it lightened. _

_ "So, what about you?" Jaehyun asks. _

_ "What about me?" _

_ "Do you like him?  _ Like him _ , like him?" Jaehyun asks. _

  
  
  


Wonwoo smiles up at Seungcheol as the elder sniffs. 

"I know it's stupid. Like, after everything you told me. You'd think I'd know better than to like you like that." Seungcheol mumbles. His voice a bit hoarse as he keeps looking down at his hands on his lap. 

"I didn't plan this, obviously. And you did say you were straight the first time we met, so..." Seungcheol says and Wonwoo nods. His hand was still cupping Seugncheol's face as the elder pouts.

"Will you say something? I feel sort of like an idiot right now." Seungcheol whines and Wonwoo laughs a bit. 

Wonwoo thinks for a few seconds, going through his thoughts over and over before he opens his mouth and speaks. He's not entirely confident with it, he's not really sure if he should act on his feelings right now but he's pretty sure he's thinking clearly enough to push ahead with it.

"Can I kiss you?" 

Seungcheol looks at him with wide eyes and he opens and closes his mouth like he's trying to speak but he can't and Wonwoo smiles at the sight.

"You can say no, you know. But... uhm. I went to Mr. Jung's place earlier and talked to Jae about, uh, some stuff that I-" 

"Wait. You talked to  _ Jae _ ? He told you that i like you?!"

"What? No. He told  _ me _ that i like- Wait. He  _ knows _ that you like me?" Seungcheol flushes at that and Wonwoo laughs.

"Is there anyone who doesn't know you like me? Aside from me?" Wonwoo teases and Seungcheol tried his best at a glare and it's not really that effective paired with a pout. 

"Chungha doesn't know." Seungcheol says with a pout and Wonwoo quirked up an eyebrow at his tone. He then recalls Chungha making him take off his jacket and the sight of Taeyong and Seungcheol eyeing them from across the room. Wonwoo laughs.

"Nope. Pretty sure she knows. She does now, at least. You should probably not glare at everyone i talk to, you know. It's not very attractive." Wonwoo says and Seungcheol glares at him again. Or tries to, at least. Wonwoo really can't pry his attention away from Seungcheol's pouting lips. 

"Well, then, no. Everyone else knows but you. You're pretty dense, you know." Seungcheol adds and Wonwoo gave him an unimpressed look.

"I literally just asked you to kiss me and you're calling me the dense one." Seungcheol then blushes from the neck up and Wonwoo moves closer. He was still on his knees in front of the elder and Seungcheol parted his knees so Wonwoo can move closer. Seungcheol stares at his lips the entire time and Wonwoo smiles. At least he's not alone on the whole lip staring thing. 

"You still haven't given me an answer here." Wonwoo says. Seungcheol gave him an eye roll and Wonwoo's right hand moves from Seungcheol's knee up to the side of his thigh. Seungcheol stares at the hand and Wonwoo had to tap his left hand that's still cupping Seungcheol's face to get his attention back. Seungcheol whines.

"I literally just- You do realize that you're like, kneeling in front of me, right? By my bed. Looking like that." Seungcheol says and Wonwoo doesn't get what he means.

" _ Yes _ . My god. Just kiss me already." Seungcheol says and Wonwoo smiles before tilting his head up and pressing his lips onto Seungcheol's.

It was a quick one. Almost five seconds, six tops. Seungcheol's arms went around Wonwoo's shoulders as they kissed and Wonwoo couldn't help but tighten his grip on Seungcheol's thigh as he pulls himself back. Seungcheol smiles at him, Wonwoo smiles back, and the next thing Wonwoo know's, he's being pulled up on Seungcheol's bed as Seungcheol crawls backwards before lying down and pulling Wonwoo down with him.

Wonwoo is drunk.

Well, more like tipsy now, after all the food. But he feels drunk, in a way.

Wonwoo is aware that he's drunk but he is also still aware of his surroundings. He's aware enough to, well, to move his lips along with his in a totally consented kiss.

He's aware of Seungcheol's hands going under his jacket and moving up and down his sides, his fingers tracing through Wonwoo's skin like a hot rod melting Wonwoo's flesh. He's aware of the sheet's crumpled under his grip as he pushes his weight up, hovering over the elder as he whines from beneath him. He feels Seungcheol's thigh pressing up in between his legs and he has half a mind to return the favor and press a gentle weight in between the elder's legs but he's too distracted to make a call. Too distracted by Seungcheol's parted lips and how he's sucking on Wonwoo's lower lip like his life depended on it. Too distracted by warm hands still under his clothes but now pressed firmly on his waist, pulling him down. Too distracted by the little whimpers Seungcheol makes when Wonwoo places a hand on his hips and moves it up under his shirt. 

But just then Wonwoo's arm gave out and his elbow buckles, throwing them off momentum. He presses their lips together a bit more harshly than intended and Wonwoo pulls back and apologizes.

" 'M sorry. Just really tired." Wonwoo says. Seungcheol looks up at him and Wonwoo's sure Seungcheol's eyelashes weren't that noticeable before. Maybe it's because he just cried? Or maybe the proximity of them to each other? Or maybe it's the position they're in, right now? Wonwoo's not sure. But Seungcheol looks up at him through his lashes and smiles shyly at him. 

Seungcheol then pushes himself up to a sitting position which means Wonwoo had to sit back up too. Now he's seated on Seungcheol's lap as Seungcheol smiles at him. 

"Let's switch?" Seungcheol suggested and Wonwoo nods. He's never been a fan of kissing before but he'll be damned if he passes on a chance to keep on kissing Seungcheol. 

He strips off his jacket, shoes, glasses, and pants and goes back to Seungcheol's bed. Seungcheol changes his shirt and takes off his pants as well. Now both of them are just in their boxers, as usual. But then Seunghceol's crawling over him, a knee on either sides of his waist, as Seungcheol hovers over his face.

"Yes or no?" Seungcheol asks and Wonwoo nods and whispers a small yes, maybe a little too enthusiastically. Seungcheol laughs and leans down to close the distance between their lips.

Wonwoo had sworn he hated kissing. He was sure he did.

He's kissed Jeonghan and it felt like, well, like kissing the back of his hand. It didn't feel like anything. 

But Seungcheol's lips on his felt different. Tasted different. It feels weird, the good kind of weird that has you questioning why do you still want more. Seungcheol's weight was pressed down on Wonwoo, his legs on either side of Wonwoo's right thigh and Wonwoo lifted it up a bit to get some reaction out of him. And he did. He feels Seungcheol gasp in their kiss. He can't help but smile as Seungcheol presses himself closer to him and Wonwoo was about to lose it when Seungcheol moved up.

Seungcheol's legs were now on either side of his waist, he pulls back a bit and Wonwoo can't help but groan when Seungcheol promptly sits on his crotch. Seungcheol smiles down at him, his hands on either side of his head. 

"You know, for someone who doesn't swing, you sure are loving this." Seungcheol teases. Wonwoo glares up at him and he uses that as his chance to move his hands inside Seungcheol's shirt and to grab hold of his waist. 

"Just shut up." Wonwoo says and Seungcheol laughs before leaning down and kissing Wonwoo again. Seungcheol's arms now folded as he supports his weight with his elbows. Wonwoo thinks he likes it better this way, Seungcheol taking control of the kiss but still letting Wonwoo to set the pace. It's so painfully obvious that Seungcheol just wants more and Wonwoo drags his hands up Seungcheol's back, pressing his fingers with a bit more pressure which makes the elder whine in the kiss when Wonwoo's hand passes through the dip of his spine. Wonwoo surges forward, kissing with a bit more energy as he trails his finger down Seungcheol's spine. Seungcheol gasps, he visibly shakes and whimpers as Wonwoo's other hand gripped on his waist. Seungcheol's lips doesn't stop moving against Wonwoo, though, despite all of Wonwoo's relentless teasing. 

Seungcheol pulls back after a few minutes, he presses his forehead on Wonwoo's as he catches his breathe. Wonwoo moves his hands back to Seungcheol's waist and then drags them up slowly, Seungcheol's breath hitching when Wonwoo's fingers passes his nipple.

"Sensitive." Seungcheol whispers and Wonwoo smiles. He presses his palms on the side of Seungcheol's chest, his fingers gripping Seungcheol's ribs as he presses his thumbs gently on the elders nipples. Seungcheol's legs tightened around Wonwoo's waist as he hears him gasp. 

"D-don't..." Seungcheol says, barely a whisper as Wonwoo starts rubbing his thumbs slowly. Seungcheol's nipples hardened instantly and Wonwoo smiles as Seungcheol sits back up and tries to pry his hands away. Wonwoo moves his right hand from under Seungcheol's shirt and places it around the back of Seungcheol's neck to pull him back down in a kiss, his left hand still torturing the elder's nipples. Wonwoo feels Seungcheol getting hard as he presses his crotch on Wonwoo's and Wonwoo's mind short circuit at the thought. 

He's hard.

Wonwoo's hard in his boxers and Seungcheol's pressing his dick against his in a slow grind, making Wonwoo tighten his grip on his neck.

Seungcheol sighs in their kiss again and he pulls back to kiss his chin and moves down his jaw. Wonwoo moves both of his hands up Seungcheol's hair as Seungcheol's lips moves down to his neck, leaving open mouthed kisses and gently nipping the skin with his teeth before pulling back and moving down. Wonwoo shivers when he feels Seungcheol suck on the base of his neck, right by his collar bone. Seungcheol laps at it for a very long time before he moves up to hover his face over Wonwoo's.

"This is actually happening right?" Seungcheol asks. Wonwoo surges up and catches Seungcheol's lips in a hungry kiss. He pulls back and smiles up at Seungcheol.

"Yup. Definitely. Why? Does it feel like a dream to you?" Wonwoo teases and Seungcheol laughs quietly in his face.

"You have no idea how many times you've popped up in my dreams." Seungcheol says before closing the distance between them again and kissing Wonwoo more languidly now. His lips are moving slower now, less rushed than before but the pressure was even better. 

Seungcheol's lips were soft. Too soft to be compared to anything Wonwoo's ever felt against his lips. Wonwoo can feel how full they were, how soft, and plump. He laughs internally as he replays 'plump' in his mind and Wonwoo's gonna have to change Seungcheol's contact number from now on. 

Seungcheol maneuvers his legs again, this time slotting one leg between Wonwoo's legs, trapping Wonwoo's right leg in between his as he presses himself flush on Wonwoo's chest. Their new position gave their kiss a different angle, a different pressure, and Seungcheol has found different use of his arms as he trails his right hand up Wonwoo's shirt. Seungcheol's hands were cold, Wonwoo sighs as he feels them pressed on his side and Seungcheol grinds his hip down Seungcheol's thigh. Wonwoo's sure Seungcheol's trying to relieve himself and he's using Wonwoo's thigh for some sort of pressure on his dick.

Wonwoo smiles and he moves his right hand down from Seungcheol's hair, to his neck, moving across his back and down to his waist. Wonwoo then presses his hand palm up in between them and moves it down towards Seungcheol's crotch. Wonwoo smile when Seungcheol stutters out a moan when he presses his palm on his dick, feeling it twitch when he lifts his right leg a bit making Seungcheol hitch up an inch. Seungcheol lets out a single fuck and Wonwoo uses his left hand to cup Seungcheol's jaw and kiss him again, distracting him enough to press his hand on Seungcheol's chest like before and thumbs his nipple. Seungcheol moans into their kiss and Wonwoo smiles. Seungcheol is starting to shake above him, actually quivering from Wonwoo's hands. He pulls back an inch away from Wonwoo's face with his eyes shut tight. 

"Fuck. How are you so good with your hands?" Seungcheol asks. Wonwoo's mind is in a haze, the alcohol in his system and the pure want for Seungcheol clouding his actions which made him think it's a good idea to move up to Seungcheol's lips and lick it before saying "I'm better with my tongue". 

Wonwoo doesn't mind, though, because that pushes Seungcheol over the edge. It doesn't matter if it was a complete lie, given Wonwoo's experience, or lack thereof. He feels Seungcheol's dick twitch in his hands and his thighs squeezing Wonwoo's as Wonwoo feels Seungcheol's boxers getting wet. 

"Fucking hell..." Seungcheol says before collapsing on top of Wonwoo. 

They were both panting, Seungcheol more harshly than Wonwoo, as they lie like that. Wonwoo on his back, his right hand trapped between Seungcheol's dick and his leg and his left hand moving on top of Seungcheol's back. Seungcheol pressed on top of Wonwoo, his face tucked on the side of Wonwoo's neck as he tries to catch his breath. He pulls his right hand free and Seungcheol groans, probably still sensitive from cumming. Wonwoo moves his hand up through Seungcheol's nape and cards his fingers through his hair.

"You're still hard." Seungcheol mumbles from under his jaw. Wonwoo can feel Seungcheol's hand pressing over his dick and he groans.

"I'm too tired." Wonwoo says. Seungcheol laughs and pulls himself up to look at Wonwoo.

"I could just do all the work, you know?" Seungcheol toys with the garter of Wonwoo's boxers, slipping his finger in and sliding them in and out. Wonwoo's whole fuck it attitude since the night started still hasn't left him so he give's Seungcheol a go and within a few seconds, Seungcheol's hand is inside his boxers, fingers wrapped around his dick. 

"You sure?" Seungcheol asks and Wonwoo nods again.

"Yes. Please just do something." 

Wonwoo sighs. He didn't.. He never knew someone's touch could be this... could feel this great. Seungcheol starts sucking on his neck again and Wonwoo squirms when Seungcheol starts moving his hand. Wonwoo lasts maybe a minute before he cums on Seungcheol's hand. Seungcheol pulls his hand out and wipes Wonwoo's cum on Wonwoo's boxers, making sure he presses Wonwoo's still half hard dick as he wipes his hand clean. 

"What the fuck." Seungcheol says and Wonwoo laughs. 

"Where the hell did you learn all… All of that." Seungcheol asks and Wonwoo shrugs. 

"I read." Wonwoo says and Seungcheol stares. 

"You  _ read _ ." Seungcheol repeats and Wonwoo laughs. 

"Imagine fifty shades, but they're both guys. Yeah. Lots of books like that." Wonwoo says and Seungcheol laughs. 

"We should probably clean up." Seungcheol says. Wonwoo nods, his eyes already closed. The post orgasm drowsiness already taking over his body. 

"It'll be faster if we take a shower." Seungcheol says. Wonwoo nods again and Seungcheol snorts. He then feels Seungcheol move closer to his ear, his breath fanning over his ear. 

"It'll be even faster if we shower together." Seungcheol says. Wonwoo groans. He opens his eyes and sees Seungcheol smiling down at him. 

"I'll make you breakfast tomorrow if we shower now." Seungcheol says.

"Are you paying me with food for sexual favors? I didn't think that's what they meant when they say sugar daddy." Wonwoo jokes and Seungcheol rolls his eyes as he crawls off of Wonwoo and headed straight for the bathroom. 

Wonwoo sits up on Seungcheol's bed. He looks down at his ruined boxers anD smiles to himself. He then looks up and sees half of Seungcheol's back, his naked back, before turning his head to him in a smile and moving towards the shower. Wonwoo hears the shower turn on and he takes off his shirt before he even reaches the bathroom door. 

Half an hour later, when they're both clothed and lying on Wonwoo's bed, Wonwoo smiles down at Seungcheol as the elder wraps an arm around his waist and pulls him closer. As the moonlight shines through their curtain and bounces off of the elder's face, Wonwoo notes that Seungcheol's eyelashes are now his third favorite thing on earth.

The first being his mom's cooking and the second being Seungcheol's lips. 

  
  
  


\----------

Wonwoo rolls down the window and lets his hand hang out into the cold wind. He hears a disapproving tsk from his left and Seungcheol gave him a glance before his eyes go back to the road. He grins to himself and moves his hand gently up and down. 

"For someone who complains  _ a lot _ about the cold, you sure do like getting cold." Seungcheol says and Wonwoo laughs. 

"That's what i have you for. My personal heater." Wonwoo jokes and Seungcheol rolls his eyes playfully. Wonwoo retracts his hand and rolls the window up halfway. He lets the cold wind hit his face and his neck as he tugs his sleeve down to warm his freezing hand. He was dressed in an untucked white button up shirt and a black sweater over it to fight the cold from making him shiver. He opted for his ripped jeans earlier but Seungcheol had pointed out how that won't help him in the long run so Wonwoo changed to his black skinny jeans and his black high cut converse again. Seungcheol's wearing his signature v-neck sweater that exposes his collar bones and a bit of his chest and a black baggy sweatpants and his rubber shoes. He looks awfully dressed up for supposed grocery shopping. 

"Staring is rude, you know." Seungcheol says. Wonwoo scoffs at Seungcheol's ego inflating again and looks out of the window.

" _ Hypocrite _ ." Wonwoo says and Seungcehol laughs. Wonwoo then feels a warm, heavy palm on his knee. He looks back at Seungcheol and shakes his head before placing a hand on top of it. Seungcheol grins and drags his hand up to Wonwoo's thigh. Wonwoo appreciates the warmth. He's gonna need it for the day.

It's Jeonghan's birthday and he invited Wonwoo to the town in between their universities to hang out for the day. Wonwoo was about to say it wouldn't feel the same without Seokmin but he hears the younger screaming over Jeonghan and he laughs. He agrees and tells the two he can't wait to see them. 

And the thing is, Jeonghan invited Seungcheol as well. It seems as though Seungcheol has a better friendship with Jeonghan and Seokmin than he initially thought. Jeonghan had asked Wonwoo to invite Seungcheol as well and... well... Wonwoo kind of, well sort of, uyhm, maybe, didn't. 

He told Seungcheol about Jeonghan's birthday, about their day out, and about going to town. And then Seungcheol asked if he needed a ride and Wonwoo said he could just take the bus. But Seungcheol says he needed to buy some things in town anyways, so Wonwoo agreed. Wonwoo  _ wanted _ Seungcheol there. He wants to spend a day with his best friends and his... and Seungcheol. But he's not sure why he feels uncomfortable with it. It's not like he thinks they'll be awkward, he's sure they won't be. But something about telling Jeonghan and Seokmin what he and Seungcheol are, right now, that freaks him out.

And he doesn't even know exactly  _ what _ they are.

The morning after their little  _ fight _ , Wonwoo woke up to Seungcheol pressed to his side. It felt nice, and warm, and weird. It's a good kind of weird but still  _ weird _ . Their day went on as usual. Honestly it's like nothing even changed. But after his last class, Wonwoo saw Seungcheol waiting by the door to his room and asked if he wanted to get food from Mr. Jung's place for dinner and Wonwoo agrees. So after Wonwoo's library session with Minghao, he went back to their dorm first so Wonwoo can leave his bag but then Seungcheol stops him in front of the door, standing in front of him with his hands on Wonwoo's waist as he asks Wonwoo if he could kiss him. Wonwoo laughs but nods anyways. They ended up making out for an hour and going out for food at around ten in the evening. 

That's been how their days have been for the past three days now.

Waking up pressed together, going about their day, eating lunch together, meeting up after school, making out, grabbing dinner, then making out some more, taking a bath, together or otherwise, and then making out some more till they fall asleep next to each other.

Wonwoo doesn't want to just assume they're a  _ thing _ now. Cause, technically they aren't  _ officially _ a thing.

Maybe it's just something casual. Or maybe it's just how Seungcheol is? Wonwoo's mind just about short circuits whenever he tries to think about it so he tries his best not to. But one thing's for sure, everybody has picked up on their little  _ thing _ happening. Soonyoung had been saying he's busy for lunch and always supplies Wonwoo with where he could find Seungcheol instead, Hansol openly asks about it before Jihoon rolls his eyes and redirect the conversation somewhere else to distract Hansol, even Ten is giving him  _ looks _ \whenever Seungcheol and him goes up to their room. It's stressing Wonwoo so much to the point that he's convinced himself that it's just something he has to  _ live _ with.

"You're pouting." Wonwoo hears. He glares at Seungcheol and Seungcheol laughs.

"Note to self; never point out the pout because it'll disappear." Seungcheol narrates and Wonwoo lifts his hand from Seungcheol's to cross his arms. 

"Note to self; ask Johnny about the empty rooms in the building and if I could move in to one of them." Wonwoo says and Seungcheol laughs. 

"You're not getting rid of me that easily." Seungcheol says, smiling. He then gently squeezed on Wonwoo's thigh.

"But, seriously, though. You okay?" Seungcheol asks. Wonwoo sighs.

"Yeah. Just tired, I guess." Wonwoo says. He can't possibly tell Seungcheol about all of  _ that _ .

"Is that my fault?" Seungcheol asks with a smile on his face and Wonwoo scoffs. 

"Not like  _ that _ , you pervert." Seungcheol laughs. 

"But seriously, though. You sure you can survive the day? Jeonghan seems like he has your day packed." Seungcheol says.

"Yeah. It's just one day. And besides, I really missed them." Wonwoo says. Seungcheol nods. 

"Well, I'll be in town till like, five, i think? So give me a call if you're feeling tired, okay?" Seungcheol says. Wonwoo feels him squeeze his thigh again and Wonwoo doesn't know what to say.

  
  


"Cheol. You're not just lying about the grocery thing just so you can stay in town till later so you can drive me back to uni, are you?" Wonwoo asks, placing a hand over Seungcheol's on his thigh and flipping it over so he can press their palms together. Seungcheol chuckles.

"What? No! Why would I? I told you I'm buying some things for class." Seungcheol says. Wonwoo sighs.

"You're really not good at lying, Cheol." Wonwoo says. Seungcheol takes a deep breath and pulls his hand away from Wonwoo to grab the stick. Wonwoo belatedly realized that they're at the parking lot of the mall already. Seungcheol maneuvers the car and turns it off when they're parked. He takes a deep breath and faces Wonwoo.

"Okay. I didn't want to seem like those over protective, clingy, overbearing type of guy. Okay? But I really like you and I just... I don't know... I wanted to do this for you. But i know you'll turn it down the moment you find out i'm doing it  _ just for you _ so i just... I don't know." Seungcheol says. Wonwoo smiles and grabs Seungcheol's hands in his.

"Seungcheol, you are all of those things. You are over protective, and clingy, and a bit overbearing, yeah. You have been like that since we met, you know." Seungcheol frowns at that and Wonwoo laughs.

"It's not a bad thing. But you don't have to treat me like this all the time, okay?" Wonwoo says. Seungcheol looks up at him.

"Of course I do. Especially now. I have manners, Wonwoo." Seungcheol says and Wonwoo raises an eyebrow at that.

"Especially now?" 

"Yeah. Now that we're... you know..." Seungcheol flushes and Wonwoo doesn't say anything.

"What are we?" Wonwoos asks. Seungcheol shrugs.

"I don't... I... Why? What do you think we are?" Seungcheol asks back.

"I don't know. Roommates with benefits? Kiss mates? More than friends?" Wonwoo says and Seungcheol looks up at him with wide eyes before barking out in laughter.

" _ Kiss mates _ !" Seungcheol says in between laughter and Wonwoo feels himself blush.

"I thought we'd be at least dating, you know." Seungcheol says after he caught his breathe. 

"Oh." Wonwoo says. Stupidly.

"But, you know, If you're not comfortable with that it's cool. Kiss mates sounds way better. It's definitely the first I've heard of it." Seungcheol jokes. Wonwoo lets go of Seungcheol's hand to pinch his arm and Seungcheol laughs.

"What do you think about  _ Shower buddies _ ? Or... Or Boner bros?" Seungcheol says and Wonwoo laughs as he hits Seungcheol's arm repeatedly.

"You're  _ insufferable _ ." Wonwoo says and he goes out of the car. He moves to the door for the back seat and opens it to grab for his bag but Seungcheol reaches for it and goes out of the car as well. He raises it over head and gives Wonwoo a challenging look before taunting Wonwoo to come closer. So Wonwoo walked around the car and sees Seungcheol placing his bag on the driver's seat as he smiles at him from the door. 

"Don't be mad at your make out buddy. Oh! What about pen pals? But, like, it's short for penis pals." Seungcheol says and Wonwoo rolls his eyes. He lets himself be pulled towards the elder and he crosses his arms as Seungcheol's arms are around his waist. 

"I have a confession to make, too." Wonwoo says. 

"Jeonghan may have invited you out, too, and I didn't know how to, like, invite you and how to tell them what we are... so I just didn't. Invite you, i mean. But I'm inviting you now? If you want." Wonwoo says, looking at the Seungcheol's chin as he speaks. He sees the elder smile and he looks up to see those fucking brown eyes smiling at him as well, his lashes looking prettier up close and Wonwoo feels himself smiling back.

"Thanks for the invitation, babe." Wonwoo pretend to not like the sound of the pet name and lets Seungcheol continue.

"I would love to join you and your friends for the day." Seungcheol says with a massive grin on his face

"But please, let me do the honor of introducing myself as your  _ kiss mate _ ." Seungcheol says in a serious tone and Wonwoo pulls his hand to up to slap Seungcheol on his neck as he laughs out loud. 

They made it inside the mall after a few minutes, Seungcheol wearing Wonwoo's bag happily as Wonwoo tries to contact Seokmin and Jeonghan about their whereabouts. Wonwoo flushes when Seungcheol grabs his hand and whispers if it was okay. They break apart though when Wonwoo was thrown forward by someone jumping on his back and wrapping their arms around his neck, laughing out loud. He's known that laugh for years and he laughs along, turning around to hug Seokmin back.

Wonwoo felt like crying.

Like, actual, big fat tears, loud, ugly sobbing, kind of crying. He misses everyone back home so bad and Seokmin clinging onto him is just what he needs to try and at least satiate that. Like a little taste of home in a way. He looks over Seokmin's shoulder and sees Jeonghan walking over Seungcheol and giving him a quick hug. 

"I missed you so much." Seokmin says. His words muffled through Wonwoo's sweater and Wonwoo laughs.

"Missed you too." Wonwoo pats him on his back and they pull off of each other. Wonwoo then turns to Jeonghan and gives him a tight hug as well. 

"Happy birthday." Wonwoo says over Joenghan's shoulder and Jeonghan thanked him. They pull back from each other and laugh when they see each other getting teary eyed. They looked over Seokmin and Seungcheol and sees Seungcheol rubbing a hand over Seokmin's back as he tries not to cry. The three of them ended up crying in the middle of the mall, Seokmin hiding his face on their chest as he hugs them at the same time. Jeonghan laughing along with Wonwoo as the both of them wipe a few tears straying from their eyes. Jeonghan then says they need to hurry to the cinema because it's almost time for the movie they were gonna watch and Wonwoo laughs as they break away. Jeonghan wrapping his arm around Seokmin's back as they lead the way and Wonwoo taking Seungcheol's hand as they walked behind them.

  
  


The movie was fun.

Well, the movie itself was okay, but he missed how Seokmin would be talking during the entirety of the movies they watch, him asking questions and even voicing out the obvious revelations the characters see. Seokmin was in between Jeonghan and Wonwoo as Seungcheol sits on Wonwoo's right. Wonwoo's glad they can lift the cup holders in between seats because Seungcheol's basically pressed up on Wonwoo's side the entire time with his left hand tangled with Wonwoo's right. They break apart when the lights come on after the film, though, and Wonwoo's sure he saw Jeonghan's eyes flit over them. But he ignores it for now as they try to catch up to a running Seokmin who apparently held in his pee since the first half hour of the film. Wonwoo laughs as Jeonghan jogs to catch up and Wonwoo took that chance to grab hold of Seungcheol's hand as they exit the theatre.

Next on Jeonghan's itinerary is lunch. Seungcheol and Jeonghan discuss different food joints in the mall, various food stalls and fast food chains that Seokmin and Wonwoo hasn't even heard of, and they eventually decides on one. They walk by pair to the way there, Jeonghan and Seungcheol talking about the food there, and Seokmin grabbing Wonwoo's hand and swinging it a bit as they walked behind the two.

"Are you doing okay in college?" Seokmin asked. Wonwoo shrugs. He turns to Seokmin and smiled.

"It's college. I honestly don't even know if I'm like, currently passing my classes at this rate. But I made friends. A couple of them your age actually, and one of them is a year younger than you." Wonwoo says. Seokmin mouths a silent  _ wow _ and Wonwoo laughs.

"What about you? How's your classes going? If Jungkook is dragging you out everyday after class I swear I'm gonna go back there myself and punch him in the face." Wonwoo says. Seokmin laughs but he shakes his head no.

"He's really doing great, actually. Both of us are. I think Taehyung asked him out but he turned him down." Seokmin says.

"What? After all the nights he spent  _ gushing _ about Taehyung's voice and how pretty he is, inside and out. After the breakdown he had when Tae dyed his hair black? And he turned  _ him _ down?" This is the first Wonwoo' hearing about this and he's honestly surprised.

"Well, he did freak out about it  _ to me _ . And Tae's gone for college, too, so I guess that's a thing. But you should've seen him. He was smiling so wide and all. But he says he wants to focus on studying first." Seokmin then looks over at Jeonghan's back as he smiles.

"Says he wants to be like you." Seokmin says. Wonwoo sighs at that. Because, really, he is not someone you should want to be like when you grow up.

"He really shouldn't. I'm a wreck." Wonwoo says. Seokmin leans on Wonwoo's shoulder and laughs. 

They stopped in front of a famous burger place and Jeonghan pulls Seokmin in to look for seats. Seungcheol presses himself close to Wonwoo's side and Wonwoo catches him smiling.

"Can i tell them now?" Seungcheol asks and Wonwoo rolls his eyes.

"I'm surprised you lasted this long, to be honest." Wonwoo teased and Seungcheol laughed. 

"Before we eat or after?" Wonwoo asks and Seungcheol places his chin on Wonwoo's shoulder.

"Before, please. I wanna tell them we're kiss mates already." Seungcheol says and Wonwoo lifts his shoulder to wipe that smug look on Seungcheol's face. Wonwoo sees Seokmin waving at them from inside and went in, not bothering to see if Seungcheol was following. 

they were at a table at the far end of the room, Wonwoo silently thanks the window besides their table and takes a seat there. He was seated in front of Jeonghan and Seungcheol takes the seat beside him, in front of Seokmin. 

"Before we order... We kind of want to tell you something." Jeonghan says. He glances over at Seokmin and both of them had on a somewhat unsure expression on. 

"Is everything okay? Is this about home?" Wonwoo asks and Seokmin laughs nervously.

"No no no... Not really. It's about me." Seokmin says. Wonwoo's mind froze for a second then something came to him.

"Wait, is this about college? Did you get accepted? Wait... did you  _ not _ apply?" Wonwoo asks and Wonwoo felt Seungcheol's hand wrap around his under the table. Wonwoo looks over at Seungcheol and he motions for Wonwoo to look at the table. Wonwoo turns and sees Jeonghan and Seokmin holding hands as well. 

"It's about us, actually." Jeonghan says. Wonwoo's mind starts running a hundred miles an hour and he stares at their intertwined hands and each of their faces.

"Oh." Wonwoo says. He honestly doesn't know how to react. Or what to say. They technically haven't said anything yet, so Wonwoo's mind is still blank.

"You two are... uhm... okay. Can i ask since when?" Wonwoo asks and Jeonghan smiles as he turns his head towards Seokmin. His head tilted to the right to look at Seokmin on his left, making a few of his hair fall to his face. He stares at Seokmin and Seokmin gave him a shy smile.

"A year. Exactly a year." Jeonghan says and Wonwoo stares at Seokmin.

"You did not ask him out on his birthday." Seokmin laughs at that and pointed an accusing finger at Jeonghan. 

" _ He  _ asked  _ me _ out! He even used his birthday against me!" Seokmin says and Jeonghan laughs.

"I did not!" Jeonghan defends himself. Wonwoo laughs along as he look at his two best friends. 

Somehow, in a way, he feels like he should've seen this coming. Seokmin's tendency to keep bringing Jeonghan into every conversation last year seemed like him just missing his friend to Wonwoo but now he knows it's more than just that. He smiles as the other two bicker in front of him and he feels Seungcheol squeeze his hand gently. Right.

"Well. I have something to say, too." Wonwoo says. He spares Seungcheol a glance and sees him smirking.

"What? That you two are a thing? We know." Jeonghan says. Seokmin laughs quietly at that and Wonwoo turns to glare at Seungcheol. Seungcheol then let go of his hand to lift them up in fake surrender as he turns to Jeonghan.

"I never told you anything! Tell him!" Seungcheol says and Jeonghan nods.

"He didn't, technically, but he was obvious." Jeonghan says. Seokmin nods.

"You are, too." Seokmin says to Wonwoo.

"You do know that you stare at Seungcheol, like, half of the time, right?" Jeonghan says and Wonwoo rolls his eyes and crosses his arms in front of his chest.

"All of you are annoying. Just order food already." Wonwoo says and Seungcheol leans forward on the table.

"You know, he called us kiss mates earlier and he didn't even invite me here because he's shy." Wonwoo grabs the menu in front of him and hit's Seungcheol on the back of his head.

"I think he thinks this is like, bringing your significant other to your parents' house, or something." Wonwoo hits Seungcheol in the head again. Seokmin and Jeonghan laugh and Seungcheol pretends he got hurt and Wonwoo's trying really really hard not to smile.

The rest of their lunch passed by in series of laughter trying to escape their full mouths as they each tell their stories. Seokmin telling them all about home, his mom already getting teary eyed whenever they talk about him moving out to college and his dad going silent. Seokmin's parents have always been softhearted much like Seokmin. Seokmin also tells them about Jeonghan's mom practically adopting him now that she knows Jeonghan and him are going out. Apparently all three of their mom's had a somewhat bet about who'll end up with who. And all of them were rooting for Seokmin and Jeonghan from the start. Seungcheol laughs at that and Seokmin confirms that, yes, Wonwoo's mom was in on it, too. Jeonghan tells them about his classes being a bitch. He apologizes to Wonwoo for not calling much since he's busy and he has to prioritize calling his sister and then Seokmin. Wonwoo gave him an unimpressed stare at his attempt of teasing and he threw a curly fry on his face. Wonwoo and Seungcheol then tag teams on telling them what's up with them. Seungcheol even telling them about Chungha's party a few days ago as he tells them how they ended up together. Jeonghan giving Wonwoo his stern _ what-were-you-thinking _ look when Seungcheol tells them how he disappeared for an hour after walking out of the party alone, Seokmin urging Seungcheol about what happened that night as Seungcheol blushes, and Wonwoo telling them it's none of their business. Seungcheol then jumps to the  _ kissmates _ bit and Jeonghan is so not gonna let him live this down. 

They finished lunch at around two in the afternoon so they walked around the mall for a bit, Seokmin asking Seungcheol about the arcade here and the two of them heading in without so much as glancing back at Wonwoo and Jeonghan. Jeonghan beat them in buying coins, saying it's still his treat, and gave each of them ten coins each. Seungcheol and Seokmin disappeared together and Wonwoo scans the place for those drop the ball games where there's a bunch of holes on the bottom of the game with different prizes and you have to time the ball to fall on the highest one. He loved this game because it was an easy win when you crack it.

He headed straight for the game and Jeonghan smiles when he sees where Wonwoo's headed. 

"You're not gonna hit jackpot every time and get us kicked out of this arcade too, are you?" Jeonghan asks, Wonwoo grimaces at the memory.

"Fine, I'll get one that's like, ten tickets, or something." Wonwoo says and he smiles. He looks up at the game and sees that the jackpot is three hundred tickets. He smiles over his shoulder at Jeonghan and Jeonghan rolls his eyes with a smile before leaving him with the game. Wonwoo smiles down at the game and he puts in all his coins in one go. He's pretty sure he's gonna finish this in about ten minutes.

Fifteen minutes later, Wonwoo went around to look for the others after he had his tickets counted and they gave him a card afterwards. He sees Seungcheol and Seokmin in a motorbike game and Jeonghan standing in between them. He walks up to them and smiles at Jeonghan.

"Done already?" Jeonghan asks and Wonwoo nods. He gave the card to Jeonghan and Jeonghan gave him a pointed look.

"You promised one that wasn't a jackpot." Jeonghan says.

"I did. I found a coin under the game when I was picking up the tickets." Wonwoo says. Seungcheol groans when their game ends and Seokmin cheers with both hands up. He then sees the card in Jeonghan's hand and rolls his eyes at Wonwoo.

"That's illegal, you know." Seokmin says. Seungcheol stands up and smiles at Wonwoo.

"What is? Are you done? We've only played, like, three games." Seungcheol says as he motions at Seokmin and Wonwoo nods.

"Your boyfriend is a cheat." Jeonghan says and he hands Seungcheol the card. Seungcheol stares at it and then at Wonwoo.

"You got these with ten coins?" Seungcheol asks. Wonwoo laughs.

"Eleven." Wonwoo says, smugly. Seokmin then pulls Jeonghan to another game and Seungcheol kept staring at Wonwoo. 

"How? Which game? Teach me. Please." Seungcheol says and Wonwoo laughs. He pulls Seungcheol towards the game and smiles when Seungcheol looks at the game and then him then back at the game again.

"Did you rig it?" Seungcheol ask, skeptically. Wonwoo rolls his eyes. He asks Seungcheol for a coin and he inserts in and asks Seungcheol to watch. Wonwoo times it, he watches and waits till it's the right time and presses the button. The ball falls and instead of bouncing and leaving it to chance what they'll get, the ball goes straight down the hole of the jackpot. Wonwoo turns around at Seungcheol as he stares at the tickets coming out of the machine. Seungcheol looks at Wonwoo with a wide grin on his face and he looks at the tickets again.

"I don't know why, but that was really, really cool. I'm like,  _ so turned on right now _ ." Seungcheol says and Wonwoo laughs.

Seungcheol went up to the button and puts in a coin, asking Wonwoo what to do.

"Okay, see the light? that's where the ball will go, right?" Seungcheol nods.

"Well, people usually presses it when the jackpot is right on it, which is stupid because the ball has to fall for a couple of seconds, and by the time it hits the bottom the jackpot's moved already." Seungcheol nods again and Wonwoo presses himself close to Seungcheol's side.

"I played this way too many times before so I kind of counted how long the ball will fall. You have to press it when it's two and a half places away from the jackpot." Wonwoo says. Seungcheol knits his brows and Wonwoo presses a hand on the elder's lower back as he explains.

"The platform's moving clockwise, yeah? If you want to hit the jackpot, press it when the light is in between the second and third hole to the right of the jackpot. So when the ball falls it'll go for the jackpot." Wonwoo explains and Seungcheol nods, knitting his eyebrows again but now in focus. Seungcheol sticks out his tongue subconsciously and stares at one spot and presses the button a bit harshly when the spot was under the light. The ball falls and it went in straight through the jackpot. 

Seungcheol cheers, a couple of kids turn to laugh at him and a couple of teens are looking at them with judgemental stares and Wonwoo doesn't give a shit because Seungcheol is laughing out loud at the second wave of tickets flowing out. A few seconds later and Seokmina nd Jeonghn emerges from somewhere and Seokmin stares at their tickets.

"No way. You told him!" Seokmin says. Wonwoo smiles as Seungcheol smiles at Seokmin.

"I've been asking you to tell me how to do it for  _ years _ and you've known Seungcheol for not even a year and you  _ told _ him?" Seokmin says, crossing his arms on his chest as Jeonghan pulls him closer to his side with an arm around his waist. Seungcheol looks over at Wonwoo and Wonwoo gave him a wink. 

Or, well... At least he  _ tried _ to wink.

They spent another thirty minutes in the game, Seungcheol finishing up his coins in the game for ten minutes, and Seokmin playing the game for the entire twenty minutes and only stopping when he had gotten a jackpot out of pure luck. They had their tickets counted and Seungcheol added his to Wonwoo's card, making it reach over five thousand, while Seokmin exchanges his four hundred something tickets for two small pokemon figures, giving one to Jeonghan and Jeonghan giving him a kiss on the cheek for it. Wonwoo scans the rack for anything he'd want and smiles when something catches his eyes. He moves to the side and asks for four of them, asking him to pick different colors, and a couple of the ones under them. If he did the math right, he'd still have five hundred something tickets left so he smiles as the guy swipes his card and gave him everything in a small bag. Wonwoo pockets the other two as he headed back to their little group. Seungcheol looks up and smiles at the bag. He held it out to them and they all looked inside and smiled. 

Seokmin laughs as he picks one of the knitted bracelets, he picks the white and sky blue one as Jeonghan picks the one with white and purple. Wonwoo's glad they got those because he was kind of hoping they'd realize how he paired them. Seungcheol then picks the black and red one, leaving Wonwoo with the black and purple one. 

"This is so cheesy." Wonwoo says and Seokmin laughs. He asks all of them to hold them out for a picture and instruct them to do a peace sign and to connect their fingers. All four of them were smiling as Seokmin tries his best to angle his phone for a better photo and they were finally allowed to move after five more minutes of him taking pictures.

They eventually left the arcade after that, Jeonghan saying he wanted to blow off money on more food. Again. It's still too early for dinner so he dragged them to an ice cream bar in the middle of the mall and they bought two massive sundaes Jeonghan demanded they finish. It was supposed to be a sundae per couple but Seungcheol and Seokmin switched when Seokmin admits he doesn't like strawberry flavor and Seungcheol is sick of plain vanilla. Seungcheol kept teasing Seokmin by feeding Jeonghan and Jeonghan lets him. Seokmin is more annoyed that Seungcheol thinks this will work than it actually being annoying so Wonwoo decided that two can play it that way. 

He feeds Seokmin a spoonful and purposely let it drip off his mouth. He apologizes to the younger and tilts his face towards him before thumbing off the ice cream on his lips and sucking his thumb clean. He winks at Seokmin, or at least tries to, and Seokmin smiles. They both turn and saw Jeonghan smiling wide and Seungcheol glaring(pouting) at Wonwoo.

"If you can't take it, don't dish it out." Jeonghan says. Seokmin laughs 

They make a ruckus at the ice cream shop for an hour before they eventually decided on a place for dinner. A small cafe at the end of the mall Jeonghan loves. Wonwoo pulls Seungcheol by the wrist and tells Jeonghan to go ahead. Wonwoo makes an excuse of buying something somewhere and Jeonghan asks Seungcheol if he knew where the place was. Seungcheol nods and lets Wonwoo pull him away.

"We're not actually buying your pens here, are we?" Seungcheol asks and Wonwoo laughs.

"We're buying a cake." Wonwoo says and Seungcheol then stops walking, grabbed Wonwoo's hand off his wrist and drags him the other way. 

"The one you're heading to is too pricey. And puts too much food color on their frosting." Seungcheol says and Wonwoo smiles as he lets Seungcheol rant about the difference on their cakes.

Fifteen minutes later and Wonwoo's seated on one of the soft cushions of the cafe's chairs. He's seated next to Seokmin with Seungcheol on the other side of the table from him. Jeonghan had ordered from them and Wonwoo was almost caught when he and Seungcheol went in. Luckily Seungcheol had distracted Jeonghan enough for him to sneak the cake over the counter and asked one of the staff to bring it out after a few minutes. The staff smiles and nods at Wonwoo before Wonwoo runs up to them.

Seokmin was quiet the whole time they ate and when he does speak up, he chokes a bit at his words first before he clears his throat. 

"I- uh... I know you said no gifts but..." Seokmin then takes a small folded envelope from his bag and Jeonghan shakes his head.

"Oh, no. No no no. No gifts. We talked about this months ago." Jeonghan says. Seokmin laughs and holds a finger up with a wide grin on his face.

"No, we agreed no  _ buying _ of gifts. I  _ made _ you one." Jeonghan opens his mouth to argue but stops and gawkes as Seokmin pulls out a necklace from the envelope. Wonwoo stares as well as the silver etched wing was dangling in front of Seokmin. Jeonghan's eyes visibly starts to water up and Seungcheol rubs his back. Seokmin then stands and walks around the table and puts the necklace on Jeonghan himself. Jeonghan was trying his absolute best not to just break down in tears as Seokmin smiles down at him and pulls out a similar necklace around his neck from under his shirt. Wonwoo smiles as Jeonghan brings Seokmin in for a hug, earning them a few stray eyes from the tables around theirs. 

When Seokmin was seated again, Seungcheol brings Wonwoo's bag over the table and Wonwoo opens it, trying to look for his gift. Jeonghan eyes him from over the table and Wonwoo gives him the most innocent smile he can muster up. 

"Shut up. We never agreed on the no gifts thing like you two disgusting saps." Wonwoo says as he brings out his gift. Jeonghan glares at him with tears in his eyes and takes the gift from Wonwoo's hands. Its covered in plain brown paper and Jeonghan rips it off and deepens his glare on Wonwoo.

" ' _ How to manage your temper' _ ? Really?" Jeonghan asks and Seokmin smiles.

"Just read the first page, you'll  _ love _ it." Wonwoo says and Jeonghan doesn't lift the glare on Wonwoo as he takes the brown paper off completely and opens the book, a piece of paper then slides down to his chest and he catches it just before it slips off the ground. He glances down and then glances up at Wonwoo before opening it. Wonwoo smiles when Jeonghan furrows his brows and tears starts falling down his cheeks.

"God, you two are so annoying." Jeonghan says and Wonwoo smiles smugly at that. Jeonghan hands Soekmin the paper as he tries to wipe his face and Wonwoo watches as Seokmin opens up the paper and his face lights up in a smile when he sees their faces, drawn on just plain black ink. 

Wonwoo laughs as Seokmin says he hated the picture Wonwoo used for the drawing and Seungcheol kept laughing as he tries to make Jeonghan to stop crying. Jeonghan tells him to shut up and Wonwoo laughs harder. Wonwoo then sees one of the staff waving his hand at him, holding the cake, and Wonwoo nods. Three of the staff then started singing as the one in the middle carries the cake. Seokmin and Seungcheol laughs as they sing along and Wonwoo pulls out his phone to take a video of Jeonghan. 

Jeonghan whips his head up, looks around, and covers his face when he sees the staff, and a few other customers, singing him a happy birthday. Wonwoo laughs when he starts tearing up even more, making sure he catches it on the video, and Seungcheol clears the table in front of Jeonghan so they can place the cake in front of him. Wonwoo sings along as the cake was on the table and the staff sings the last line of the song in an exaggerated and loud voice making everyone laugh along. Jeonghan wipes at his face as he looks down at the cake. He then glances up at Wonwoo, sees him recording, and Wonwoo gave him an innocent smile as Jeonghan glares at him through his phone. 

  
  


An hour later and Wonwoo's back on Seungcheol's car's passenger's seat, letting the cold night air sink in the skin on his face as he stares out the window. 

After dinner, they asked the staff to box the cake again and headed for the bus stops. Wonwoo pushes back his tears as he Seokmin hugs him tight, reminding him that everyone is just a phone call away. Jeonghan hands Seokmin the cake and pulls Wonwoo in for a hug, too. 

And, see, the thing is, Wonwoo  _ hates _ how Jeonghan hugs. 

Jeonghan would would wrap one arm around his shoulder, a warm and firm hold on Wonwoo as his other hand goes up to the back of Wonwoo's hair. Then Wonwoo would automatically press his face on Jeonghan's shoulder as the elder sway them side to side for a few seconds. Wonwoo hated how Jeonghan hugs because each one will never be long enough. Jeonghan had been the older brother he never really had since he was a kid and Wonwoo's grown a sort of weird attachment to him. Wonwoo knows it's sappy, and really,  _ really _ cheesy, but he honestly does think of Seokmin and Jeonghan as his brothers. 

Jeonghan pulls back and tells Seungcheol to drive safely. Seokmin is spending the night at Jeonghan's dorm for the night and will be taking the earliest bus he could take the morning after. Wonwoo crosses his arms in front of his chest and gave both of them a stern look. Seokmin blushes furiously and Jeonghan glares at Wonwoo as he pulls Seokmin inside the bus, saying goodbye to them. Seokmin does as well. Wonwoo yells for them to use protection and ended up with Seungcheol's hand covering his mouth, dragging him away from the bus stop and back in the mall to go to the parking lot.

  
  


He feels Seungcheol's hand on his and he looks back at the elder, seeing him smiling at him before turning his gaze back on the road.

"We're almost there." Seungcheol says. He squeezes Seungcheol's hand, looking down at the bracelets tied around their wrists and smiles. 

"Thanks for today." Wonwoo says. Seungcheol smiles.

"What for? You invited  _ me _ ." Seungcheol says and Wonwoo nods.

"Yeah, i did. And you went with me. And it's nice that you're getting along with my best friends." Wonwoo says. Seungcheol glances at him with an amused expression before turning back to the road.

"You're not drunk, right?" Wonwoo glares and throws Seungcheol's hand towards him. Seungcheol laughs and tries to grab for his hand as Wonwoo crosses his arms in front of his chest.

"I'm sorry! I'm sorry, okay, no more making fun of you and your random bouts of emotional honesty. I swear!" Seungcheol says in between laughter. Wonwoo glares at him, scoffs, then bring down his hands. Wrapping his left hand with Seungcheol's on top of his lap. Wonwoo thought this would be the best time for his other prizes and tries to pinch them out of his front pocket. He wears one on his pinky and he lifts Seungcheol's hand and slips the second ring on his pinky. Seungcheol whips his head to his hand and Wonwoo smiles as he stares at the matching black metal band on their pinkies. 

"It's not... I'm definitely not proposing." Wonwoo says and Seungcheol laughs.

"Well thank God." Seungcheol says and Wonwoo smiles.

"Promise rings?" Wonwoo asks and Seungcheol grabs his hand in his and lifts his hand to his lips, kissing the knuckle on his pinky before smiling at Wonwoo.

"Promise." Seungcheol says. Wonwoo's not entirely sure if they both know what they're promising to each other but they let it be. They settle in a calm silence until Wonwoo turn on the radio. Seungcheol then starts singing along to the song playing softly on the radio and Wonwoo looks out the window again. Everything's feeling more... okay. He's not behind his classes, he's feeling more rested than not, and Seungcheol's here. 

Everything's okay.

  
  


\-------

** _Oct 18_ **

** _5:05 PM_ **

Wonwoo checks the time, looks around the empty discussion room, sighs, and then drops his head on the table.

He's dramatic like that. 

He's glad they were allowed to use the room for this Saturday but Wonwoo's sure only one person's gonna come through that door today.

  
  


Two weeks.

He spent the last two weeks in a blissful, cloud nine, type of headspace.

Waking up next to Seungcheol. Lunch with Soonyoung or Chungha or both. Their library sessions filling up with hushed laughters and soft murmurs. Dinner with Seungcheol. Then sleeping next to Seungcheol.

Two weeks.

And after those two weeks he's managed to piss off half of his friends, the other half knowing better than to get in between whatever is happening between them, and now he's alone, on a Tuesday, in a really cold discussion room. 

Oh, and did he mention that he's alone?

And cold?

Yeah. 

  
  


It started with Minghao.

Or, rather, it started with Wonwoo pissing off Minghao.

Wonwoo knows it's his fault, really. 

Or, well... kinda his fault?

  
  


Wonwoo has been trying his best to manage his time since the beginning of the semester and he thinks he's actually doing better now. 

But apparently not. 

He's been trying to squeeze in Seungcheol in between each and every window he can see in his schedule and the elder just smiles happily at him whenever he just pops up at random. But It's caused Wonwoo to be a few minutes late on his and Minghao's shceduled study session. The first time Minghao laughed it off, the second time he just shrugged it off, the third... Well, technically it's not a third because Minghao didn't even bother waiting for Wonwoo anymore. And Wonwoo feels like it'd be rude for him to ask where he was  _ now _ , especially since he's the one that's late. The next day Minghao gives him the cold shoulder during their shared classes and Wonwoo crumbles after their last class, pulling the younger's wrist as he tries to make an escape.

"Don't." Minghao says. 

"I'm sorry okay. I promise I won't be late next time!" Wonwoo says, Minghao gave him a really hurt expression which made Wonwoo let go of his hand. Minghao then laughs humorlessly as he shoulders his bag.

"If you think i'm avoiding you because of your punctuality then  _ fuck you _ ." Minghao says. Wonwoo was seriously not expecting that so he stood there like an idiot for a minute before he starts fixing his things. He then hears footsteps closing in on him which stops somewhere behind him. He looks up and sees Architect Lee smiling down on him.

"You two don't seem like you're going too well these days..." Architect Lee says. Wonwoo zips up his bag and sighs.

"You could say that." Wonwoo says. Architect Lee laughs quietly at that and smiles down at Wonwoo.

"Dating your classmate is usually really messy." Architect Lee says and Wonwoo whips his head up.

"What? Wait, I'm not... We're not dating." Wonwoo says and Architect Lee lets out a soft  _ oh _ as he smiles apologetically at Wonwoo.

"Sorry, I just thought... You sure you're not dating?" Architect Lee asks and Wonwoo nods.

"Well. I don't really care about your personal endeavours. Just make sure it doesn't affect your performance in my class. Alright Mr. Jeon?" Wonwoo nods and lets him walk out of the classroom first. 

After that he was even more frustrated when Minghao never shows up in the library anymore. He voices out his concern to Soonyoung and Soonyoung smiles at him and shakes his head.

"It's not my place to tell, Won." Wonwoo looks at Soonyoung and Soonyoung stares back.

"So you know what's up with him?" Wonwoo asks. Jihoon on the other end of the table snorts and looks up at them over his laptop. 

"Everyone but you knows what's up with him." Jihoon says and Soonyoung gave him a pointed look. Jihoon shrugs and went back to whatever work he's doing. 

"So it's something i did?" Wonwoo asks. Soonyoung scratches the back of his head and smiles. nervously.

"I really can't say, Won. You two should talk it out yourselves." Wonwoo groans and leans back in his chair.

"How can i when he keeps running away from me!" Wonwoo whines and Jihoon snorts. Again.

"If he's running away from you, then don't you think you should just let him be for now?" Jihoon asks. Wonwoo does get what he meant. Really.

"Yeah, i get that. But we had a deal to help each other out for this semester and he just abandoned me." Jihoon rolls his eyes and gave Wonwoo a pointed look.

"Your friend might be going through something serious right now and your initial thought is how are you gonna cope with it? Seriously?" Jihoon asks. 

"Ji. Don't" Soonyoung says. Wonwoo looks back and forth between the two of them and was confused as to how this suddenly turned into his fault.

"What? I'm just saying. Sounds a bit selfish if you ask me." Jihoon says. 

"Jihoon!" Soonyoung scolds and Wonwoo scoffs.

"Well no one asked you." Wonwoo retorted back. Soonyoung scolds him to stop as well but Jihoon had already closed his laptop, stood up, and starts packing it inside his bag. 

"I don't know if you're just really socially inept or if you're just a plain old dumbass," Jihoon says as he fixes his things and zips up his bag, "so I'll give it to you straight." Jihoon shoulders his bag and stares right at Wonwoo.

"You are one person in this entire campus, Jeon Wonwoo. Not every one revolves around you and I'm damn sure not everyone is gonna willingly fit their life around yours. So grow up." Jihoon says. Wonwoo stares as Soonyoung tries to calm him down and Jihoon just glares at him as well.

"Shut up. This is your fault. All of you keep treating him like a kid just cause Seungcheol asks you to." Jihoon says and Soonyoung stands up, his chair screeching loudly as it almost fell backwards.

"Treating me like  _ what _ ? What, you think Hansol's the only one who should be treated with care? Is that it?" Wonwoo says before he could stop himself. Jihoon's glare deepens.

" _ What the fuck did you just say? _ " Jihoon seethes and Soonyoung huffs. 

"I'm not treating him like anything but a friend. You should do the same." Soonyoung argues and Jihoon laughs. 

"I'll treat him like a friend when he treats me like one." Jihoon says. Wonwoo's brows furrows at that and he stares at Jihoon, confused.

"Woah, woah, okay. I at least thought we were all friends here." Wonwoo says and Jihoon gave both of them an unimpressed look. 

"Alright then, mind telling me how many siblings Soonyoung has?" Jihoon asks. Wonwoo was about to answer when he stops. 

His mouth opens, ready to say the right thing to prove Jihoon wrong.

But he can't.

Because he doesn't know.

"Do you even know where he's from?" Jihoon asks Wonwoo and Wonwoo closes his mouth and swallows. 

"Do you know how Hansol got into the university with his age? Or, let's say, how Kun learned korean?" Jihoon asks. Each question piling up, weighing heavier and heavier on Wonwoo's guilt. 

"Do you even know my birthday? Or what I'm majoring in?" Jihoon asks.

  
  


Wonwoo looks up and sees Jihoon's face. He's not sure if he's mad, or frustrated, or annoyed. But somehow Wonwoo feels like he sounded hurt. 

  
  


"We're  _ acquaintances _ , dorm mates, at best. Because, frankly, I wouldn't be caught dead with a friend like you." Jihoon says, staring right at Wonwoo's face. He then turns to Soonyoung, gave him a pained look, and then disappears behind the door. 

A minute passes. Then another. And the silence just grows heavier in the room. Wonwoo was still facing the door and he honestly cannot even bring himself to turn around and face Soonyoung. He feels like crying. He feels awful and embarrassed. He hears Soonyoung pick up his bag and then hears him say he's gonna head out first before walking around the table and out of the room as well. Wonwoo stares at the wooden panel door and listens to his own breathing. He checks the time and sees it's only six. So he does a couple of assignments there, with no one but his own guilt keeping him company, and drags himself back to their dorms.

  
  


He feels a hand tap his shoulder and he lifts his head up. He looks around and sees he's still in the discussion room. He then turns and looks to his left and sees Chungha smiling down at him. 

"You know, I have to be honest, you look  _ way better _ when you're drunk." Chungha teases and Wonwoo drops his head on the table again. He ignores the pain on his forehead as he hears Chungha take the seat beside him and laughs at his miserable state.

"Stop that. You'll destroy the last remaining brain cells you have." Chungha says and Wonwoo groans.

" _ Good _ . They are of no use, anyways. At least that's what everyone kept saying." Chungha sighs.

"You know, let me tell you something. I've had the worst months of my life happen to me during the first few months in this uni. Trying to keep up with the schedule and shit like that. But now, looking at you and how miserable you are, it really put things in perspective, you know. Like, I look so well adjusted compared to you right now." Chungha says. Wonwoo turns his head and glares at her but she just smiles sweetly at him. Wonwoo then groans and turns his head face down on the table again and groan. He hears Chungha sigh and pats his hair softly. 

"Alright. Tell untie Chungha what's wrong." Wonwoo sighs and tells her everything.

From Minghao, to his professor, to Jihoon, all the way down to Seungcheol.

After Jihoon's little, well, Wonwoo calls it outburst of hurtful truth, he dragged himself to their dorms, ran all the way up to their room, and locked himself in. He took off his shoes and socks and lied down face first on his bed, burying his face in his pillow. Eventually Seungcheol comes in, greets him, and stops when he sees Wonwoo. He then says he'll take a quick shower and Wonwoo groans in response. A few minutes later Wonwoo felt him sit on the side of his bed and Wonwoo turns, lifts his head up to look at the elder smiling at him before sitting up. He wraps his arms around Seungcheol's stomach as he buries his face on his shoulder. Seungcheol chuckles before placing his arms over Wonwoo's.

"Is my Nonu okay?" Seungcheol asks and Wonwoo sighs. 

"No." Seungcheol sighs and Wonwoo feels one of his hands on top of his head, his fingers carding through his hair. 

"Wanna talk about it?" Seungcheol asks and Wonwoo pulls away. He scoots back on the head of his bead, leaning back on the wall with his feet folded in front of him as Seungcheol sits on his right with his legs outstretched in front of him. 

"Jihoon just made me realize that I'm a really shitty friend. Actually, he made me realize that he didn't even think of me as a friend." Seungcheol's head whipped around and stares at him with a confused face. 

"It's okay. I'm upset because he's right. I don't know anything about most of you guys. I don't know where Soonyoung's from, I don't know how many siblings they have, I don't even know any of your birthdays." Wonwoo sinks his chin on his knees as Seungcheol takes his right hand and intertwined their fingers.

"So you're not good at remembering stuff like that, so what? You still care about them, right?" Wonwoo's head then starts ringing. One line repeating over and over like a broken loop.

"I mean... yeah." Wonwoo answers. 

  
  


_ All of you keep treating him like a kid just cause Seungcheol asks you to. _

  
  


"Actually... can I ask you something?" Wonwoo whispers. Seungcheol squeezes his hand and nods.

  
  


_ All of you keep treating him like a kid just cause Seungcheol asks you to. _

  
  


"Jihoon told me something... i have a feeling i wasn't supposed to know about it, to be honest." 

  
  


_ just 'cause Seungcheol asks you to. _

"During the first weeks of classes... Did- did you actually ask them to look after me?" Wonwoo asked. He hears Seungcheol sigh. 

"Cause now Jihoon thinks I'm some entitled brat because of it." Wonwoo says. His voice was quiet, not a hint of anything in it, really. He's just tired. 

"Okay. Look. technically, I didn't. I just kept asking them about you, and stuff. But they didn't do it just because i told them to. They're your friends too, you know?" Seungcheol says and Wonwoo laughs softly at the thought.

"Sure." Wonwoo says sarcastically. 

"Not this again, Wonwoo." Seungcheol says and Wonwoo scoffs.

"Well, sorry for the inconvenience, but there's really not that much i can do with how i feel, you know." Seungcheol sits up and turns to Wonwoo.

"That is not what I meant, and you know it." Seungcheol defends. Wonwoo pulls his hand away from Seungcheol's.

"Nothing ever is, right? You're just actually the nice guy here and I'm just the guy you're stuck with." Seungcheol's face turned from confused to frustrated.

"What the hell is that supposed to mean?" Seungcheol says a bit louder and Wonwoo takes a deep breath.

"Nothing. I'm just tired. And upset." Wonwoo says.

"It's  _ not _ nothing, Wonwoo." Seungcheol says in a calmer voice and Wonwoo straightens his legs and lied down, turning his back to Seungcheol.

"It's nothing. I'm just shit with people. It's as simple as that." Wonwoo says and he hears Seungcheol sigh.

"You're not shit with people. You're just not used to new people. It's normal." Seungcheol says and Wonwoo scoffs. He sits up and turns to face Seungcheol. 

"Normal? I'm not good with new people because I never had time for new people. I was too busy stressing about how to grow up since I was ten. That's not normal. It's not normal being twelve and trying to reach for the clothes at the bottom of the dryer and almost falling in. It's not normal to only see your mom once or twice a day. It's not normal trying to fill in for someone I don't want to be, trying to be something that I  _ never had. _ Don't tell me what's  _ normal _ ." Wonwoo says and Seungcheol laughs humorlessly at that.

"You think I speak from experience when I say normal? Don't lecture me about wanting a normal life, Wonwoo." Wonwoo then freezes as Seungcheol's face turned from annoyed to just... tired.

"Cheol, that's... I didn't-"

"Everyone has shit they have to go through in life, Wonwoo. And just because you think you have it worst, doesn't give you a free pass to be a jerk to everyone around you." Seungcheol stood up from his bed and headed for his own bed. 

Wonwoo stares as Seungcheol takes off his shirt and went under the covers, his back to Wonwoo. Wonwoo stares for a while until he realizes what kind of an ass he's been to everyone he knows in a matter of hours. So he buries his head in his pillow and tries his best to sleep it off. But he wakes up the next morning to an empty dorm and an empty feeling in his chest. 

  
  
  


He looks up at Chungha as he finishes and she has one eyebrow quirked up and her face was unreadable.

"And all of that happened this week?" Chungha asks and Wonwoo nods.

"The Minghao thing earlier this week. And the... The last one was two days ago." Wonwoo says.

"Okay. First of all, all of them were right. In a way. You were kind of a jerk. You were kind of a bad friend. And you are still.. uhm.. What did Jihoon say again?"

" _ Socially inept or just a plain old dumbass _ ." Wonwoo says.

"Yes. Those. You are still socially inept and also just a plain old dumbass." Chungha says and Wonwoo frowns.

"What? You asked for a friend so I'm being honest with you. If i take your side, then I'd be babying you. And you don't like it when you're being treated like a kid, right?" Chungha explains and Wonwoo groans. 

"I think I liked it better when I didn't have any friends. I would've gotten hurt less and I definitely would've hurt less people. Except for us, i haven't fucked this up yet." Wonwoo says and Chungha laughs.

"Yeah. That's probably true." She says as she pulls back her and looks at Wonwoo.

"But what good would that do?" Chungha asks. Wonwoo knits his brows together in confusion and Chungha laughs.

"I have a story for you. There's this really great girl I know that joined a club in highschool on her senior year. She knew she had like, less than ten months to be with her new friends but she still, y'know, she still went for it. And then she graduated with half the club, the other half staying for another year. And it was heartbreaking. You know when they say your high school friends are friends for life. It's true. But not  _ literally _ ." Chungha stares in front of them and Wonwoo did the same. Staring at the white wall as he listens.

"I'll always have those times with them. It will always be with me for as long as I want. You don't make friends because you know they'll always be there for you. You make friends to make sure you'll be there for them for as long as you can. You're a bit inexperienced with human beings, I get that. Also you probably have some trust issues or something." Chungha turns and smiles at him.

"But you're not a bad guy, Wonwoo. You were a bad friend, yeah. But no one's perfect, you know. You can always just learn from whatever you've done wrong. That's how life works. So if you want to cry about it, then go, want to lock yourself in your room or sit in the bathtub for an hour playing Birdy or Lana del Ray? then do it. But after that, you stand up and fix everything." Chungha pats his shoulder and Wonwoo nods, feeling himself tear up. Chungha just lets him be and pats his shoulder until their time in the library is up.

Afterwards Wonwoo was just going to go back to his room to sulk, or brood, whichever feels right at the time, but Chungha drags him to dinner out and Wonwoo lets himself be dragged. Wonwoo notices that they're going at the same direction to Chungha's place but they took a turn way too early. Wonwoo was welcomed by the sight of a series of two stories shops lined up. different signages in different languages lined up, designed depending on the place and Wonwoo stares as Chungha drags him towards the middle. Chungha then takes him to a cute cafe on top of a ramen bar and Wonwoo was surprised to see the cafe was really big. Chungha then pulls him the the table by the window and Wonwoo looks out. He can see the colors of the signages contrasting in an almost painful-in-the-eye kind of way as Chungha orders for them. Wonwoo smiles and talks to Chungha the entire evening. About her family, where she's from, what she wanted to do after she graduated. Wonwoo smiles as they exchange stories and Chungha laughs when he tells her about the people back home. He's glad Chungha was here. He's glad she's made him realize what he did wrong.

But most of all, he's just glad he could call her his friend.

\-----

After that Wonwoo fell into a new kind of schedule. It's like his body was hardwired to adapt to every slight change in his life almost immediately that it's kind of sad. 

  
  


He wakes up alone to his alarm clock and takes his time showering under either an ice cold shower or a scalding hot one where he comes out the shower looking red. 

He trudges along his classes. Giving Soonyoung the space he needed and sitting at the opposite end of the room from him, seeing that he was trying his best not to even look at Wonwoo's direction. And Wonwoo does the same to classes he has with Minghao too. What hurts even more was that Minghao wasn't even trying to avoid him. He was just basically living like Wonwoo doesn't bother him at all, which is more than Wonwoo could have hoped for. At least he doesn't have to put in effort in trying to step out of his way like he does for everyone else.

He has the same lunchtime as Chungha every tuesdays and thursdays and Taeyong has lunch with him some times when he can. But right now he heads outside of campus and to the street Chungha brought him to a while ago and has lunch there by himself. 

It's surprisingly peaceful, and calming. Wonwoo had always favored being alone sometimes unless he knows he's being purposely ignored. But right now he just feels like they're just far away. Like they're not avoiding him, they just don't know where he was. 

Wonwoo still heads to the library every after class and he still waves and smiles at Mingyu when he passes him by. He stays in there with his earphones on, listening to Birdy since Chungha said she's a great singer and that her songs are really calming, and he does his work as usual. Minus the usual soft bickering and hushed laughter that used to float around the room. Chungha comes in an hour after and she smiles at him as she takes a seat in front of Wonwoo and starts telling him about her day. 

After that they go out for dinner. Wonwoo asking them to go to a cafe because he's gonna need caffeine to finish a paper and Chungha pulls him to the cafe in the campus. No one from his friends ever go here and that thought somehow comforts him in a way.  _ They're not avoiding me, they just don't know where I am _ .

Chungha then asks him if he wants to stay over to her place for the night since she's staying up for a paper too and Wonwoo smiles at the thought. He asks her to just wait for him there since he already knows where it was and he'll just go back to get some clothes. 

They parted ways then and Wonwoo makes it to their dorm in under twenty minutes and he pulls out his duffel bag and places a change of clothes for tomorrow and a change of clothes for tonight, shoves his toiletries in and then pushes his towel on top of it. He then shoulders his backpack and then his duffel as he types a text to Taeyong about where he's gonna spend the night. He sends one to Johnny too and he heads out. On his way down, though, Hansol was coming up the building with his head hung low on his phone. Wonwoo gulps and walks. 

When he passes Hansol, though, Hansol does a double take and calls out to him with a smile.

"Hey. Where are you heading?" Hansol asks and Wonwoo grips the strap of his duffel bag.

"Just gonna stay the night over at a friends dorm. Staying up all night with someone sounds better than staying up alone, yknow." Wonwoo says and Hansol nods.

"Oh, okay. Which friend is it, though? Do i know them?" Hansol asks and Wonwoo can't help but laugh softly.

"It's not like I have any other friend who would willingly spend time with me right now." Wonwoo jokes and Hansol's face turns into a frown.

"Wonwoo-"

"Don't. I'm... I'm sorry. I'll just go." Wonwoo cuts him off and then turns and walks as fast as he can, ignoring Hansol's calls. 

  
  


When he rings the door to Chungha's place, he was already trying his best to hold back his tears and Chungha just smiles up at him as she lets him in. She was already in just a hoodie and sweats with her blonde hair up in a bun and Wonwoo can't wait to wear the same.

Wonwoo takes a bath, a really quick one, and he comes out to Chungha making food on her little kitchen. The place was still the same but now the couch was pulled out and turned into a bed as the table was pressed next to it. Wonwoo sets his bag next to the bed and rubs at his irritated eyes, leaving his glasses on the kitchen counter as he watches Chungha make food.

"Who was it?" Chunha asks, eyes not leaving the pot of ranyeun in front of her.

"Hansol." Wonwoo says after a deep breath and Chungha turns to look at him with a confused face.

"Really? You're gonna fuck that up, too? " Chungha says as he slaps Wonwoo's arm and Wonwoo rubs the stinging in his arms as Chungha goes back to stirring.

"I didn't mean to, okay! It's like, I've been rebooted and my defense mechanism turns into depressing sarcasm instead of the usual sarcasm." Wonwoo explains and Chungha laughs.

"That's one way to put it." Chungha says and Wonwoo frowns.

"Make yourself useful and get a can of Spam from the top cabinet and fry it." Chungha says and Wonwoo stare.

"Whole?" Wonwoo asks and Chungha turns at him with a horrified look.

"Slice them first! Wonwoo! Honestly, how you got a culinary major for a boyfriend still astounds me." Chungha says and Wonwoo chuckles.

"Me too. Also, we weren't boyfriends we were just-"

"Depressing sarcasm. Again." Chungha cuts him off and gave him a pointed look. Wonwoo shrugs. 

Wonwoo grabbed a can of Spam from the cabinet and asks Chungha fro a knife and as he grabs a plate and he starts slicing them.

"So how was dance practice?" Wonwoo asks and Chungha groans.

"Hell. Oh, and you know that cute dude i told you about? Seungyeon? Tall, smiley, really loud one?" Wonwoo remembers him because of his tattoos. Wonwoo thought they were really cool.

"Yeah?" 

"He has a boyfriend,  _ kind of _ ." Chungha says and Wonwoo laughs.

"When I asked about dance practice i was asking more on how well it went. Not asking about gossip." Wonwoo says, finishing up on slicing.

"Whatever. Anyways. Get this. His sort of boyfriend is still seventeen? Eighteen? Not really sure but yeah. They were friends since forever and apparently they don't want to label it yet and stuff like that. Plus he might not even attend the same uni so that's an issue, too." Chungha says and Wonwoo listens attentively as he grabs for a pan on the cabinet under the stove.

"I feel like you attract troubled, non straight men to you more than you think you do." Wonwoo says as he washes the pan and sets it on the other induction next to the ramyun Chungha was making.

"I know! Why can't i meet a cute guy or girl that would want to date me!" Chungha whines and Wonwoo laughs. Wonwoo pours a bit of oil on the pan and places a few pieces on.

"What about you? Did you check your fridge again?" Chungha asks and Wonwoo nods.

"Maybe he's leaving you food. I mean, I don't know Seungcheol personally but from what i hear he's really sweet." Chungha says as he takes the ramyun off the stove and brings it over the counter.

"He is. But, I don't know? What if i do eat and he goes up to me and ask me 'how dare you eat my food' or something." Wonwoo says and he turns to see Chungha leaning against the counter with her hand on her hips and a blank look on her face.

"It could happen!" Wonwoo argues and he flips the piece one by one. 

"You're so dramatic. And your wild imagination is adding an unhealthy amount of fuel to that already unstable fire." Chungha says as she opens the rice cooker on the counter and fluffs up the rice.

"Try asking Taeyong about it? I'm sure your guardian angel would know about it."

"Stop calling him that." Wonwoo says and Chungha laughs.

"Seungcheol is asking him to look over you and you know it. Even a blind man can see that." Chungha says and Wonwoo takes out the ones on the pan and puts on the other half to cook. 

Chungha brings the rice and the ramyun to the table and a couple of chairs on the other side of the pull out couch and she sets up plates and utensils as Wonwoo finishes up. Wonwoo asks her to shut the stove off since he doesn't know how it works and Wonwoo brings over the spam to the table. Chungha brought out a couple of canned coffee they bought in the cafe and bought out a couple of glasses with ice in them. 

When they were settled and about to eat, Chungha speaks up.

"But seriously Wonwoo. If you want things to go back to normal, maybe  _ you  _ have to take the first step. Talk to them." Chungha says as she grabs a bowl and fills it with rice before handing it to Wonwoo. 

"I know. But somehow i feel like maybe apologizing to them would benefit me more than them. Like, maybe they're better off like this, you know?"

"That's just self deprecating and you know it. I raised you better." Chungha says and Wonwoo laughs.

"We've known each other for not even a month."

"Yeah, and look how much you've grown. I'm your second mom now and you can't do shit about it. Now eat your food." Chungha says and Wonwoo plays along and does as he was told.

Wonwoo finished his paper a little after two and Chungha finished an hour prior. But since the two of them were still wide awake they decided to just watch a movie from Chungha's laptop on the table while they lied down on the pull out couch.

They watched a film called Pride about a group of friends raising money for something? Wonwoo wasn't sure. Maybe he wasn't as awake as he thought he was. But near the end there was a scene of the guy coming out to his family and leaving home and meeting up with his friend. She takes him in and they have beer. They spent the night on the same bed, thanking each other for having each other, and Wonwoo feels a sort of tug in the pit of his stomach as he watches. 

" _ If we were normal, this is when we'd kiss _ ." Wonwoo mimics the line and Chungha laughs softly on her pillow.

"We  _ are _ normal. But I get what you mean. But," Chungha reaches for Wonwoo's hand and gave it a squeeze.

"even if we were both straight, I'd still have standards." Chungha says and Wonwoo laughs.

They finished the film and just lie next to each other in the dark as Wonwoo stares out the huge floor to ceiling windows to his left. He stands up and pulls at the curtains a bit and then comes back next to Chungha. They both stare outside at the clear sky and at the moon half hiding behind the drawn curtains. 

Wonwoo falls asleep warmer than before but with a bit of cold still clinging on his bones. He woke up to Chungha's annoying alarm that may have traumatized him forever, and he went on the day with a lighter heart than he did yesterday. 

  
  


\-----

  
  


November was closing in and Wonwoo checks his to-do list once again.

-Apologize to Jihoon

-Talk to Soonyoung

-Figure things out with Minghao

-Try not to break down

-Explain things to Seungcheol 

-Break down

So far he's only got the last one checked, checking it twice already, and he feels like he's running out of time. Surprisingly, out of everyone, it's Taeyong who still talks to him. Wonwoo's not an idiot, he knows Seungcheol's the one asking him to keep tabs on him but he knew better than to voice it out. 

For a week now he has woken up alone in their dorm, gave Minghao and Soonyoung the distance they've put between them and Wonwoo, still goes to the library after class everyday alone, sometimes Chungha or Taeyong would join him and they'd work in silence until seven and then they'd go out for dinner, and then Wonwoo would either camp out at Chungha's place or stay in the library up until midnight before going back to their dorm to sleep. 

The first time Taeyong joined him for dinner Wonwoo was wary of what to do, and what to say. So Taeyong hits his head lightly with his knuckles and tells him to stop acting like a weirdo. Wonwoo felt like crying at that but decided that  _ that _ would be weird. Wonwoo then started asking the elder about his cat, because no matter how much he racks his brain for something all he could come up was him under Seungcheol and him having a cat. So the cat was the only thing he can say. Taeyong's usual cold demeanor then melts away and he smiles as he hands Wonwoo his phone. He says his dad kept sending him videos of his cat still lying on his keyboard at home and his dad said he might be missing Taeyong too much. Wonwoo smiles at the videos and Taeyong asks him how he's been. They talk about classes, about the cafeteria food going from passable to barely edible, having to stick to cafeteria food for the rest of the semester if both of them want to actually  _ last _ till the end of the semester, and Wonwoo off handedly mentions how lucky he was that his room mate is always bringing in food.

He stops. He stares at his hand on the table and he could feel Taeyong staring right at him. 

"He's doing fine. He's being an  _ absolute baby _ , yeah, but he's managing." Taeyong says and Wonwoo smiles.

"Also you should probably still eat the food he brings. You didn't hear this from me, but he'd feel a lot better if he opens his mini fridge in your room and sees it empty instead of full." Wonwoo looks up and Taeyong winks at him. He nods and they walk back to their dorm quietly. 

That night, Taeyong apologized as well.

"I also have to like, clear this up. Back in Chungha's party, I understand how that might've been misinterpreted. Like, what i said. But when i said Soonyoung was hooking you up with the hottest girl in the party, I meant him introducing you to the host of the party. I didn't mean anything by it. It just sort of, well, it was a bad way to deliver that message." Taeyong explained. 

"To be honest, I kind of don't even remember that. I'm sorry for lashing out on you two." Wonwoo says and Taeyong smiles.

"Just a misunderstanding, right?" Taeyong says and Wonwoo nods.

"That, and i was sort of pissed at you because I thought you and Seungcheol were a thing." Wonwoo jokes and Taeyong laughed.

"His hand in my pocket was my idea. So i guess i did deserve you lashing out." Taeyong says and they laughed again.

  
  
  


Wonwoo checks his watch and he feels his chest tighten. 

  
  


It's the twenty-sixth of October and Wonwoo's been invited for Yuta's birthday party. Wonwoo's sure he didn't need to be invited face-to-face if none of his shit happened but he still thanks the elder when he joined him and Taeyong for lunch one time. 

Wonwoo feels like an idiot, sitting on his bed, fully clothed with his shoes on, as he stares at Seungcheol's bed. He would've dressed up, but he didn't feel like it. So he opted for black skinny jeans and a black hoodie, pulling the sleeves down to hide the bracelet on his wrist but he freaks out when he sees the ring on his pinky.

_ "Promise rings?" Wonwoo asks and Seungcheol grabs his hand in his and lifts his hand to his lips, kissing the knuckle on his pinky before smiling at Wonwoo. _

_ "Promise." Seungcheol says. _

Wonwoo takes a deep breath. He pulls back his sleeves just below his wrists and lets the bracelet be seen. If he's gonna do shit, he's gonna do it right. 

His phone chimes, Taeyong texting him to get out of his cave and to come down. Wonwoo's kind of ashamed that the elder has to reassure him that he's alone just for him to feel relieved enough to go out but hopefully he can fix things by the end of the night. 

  
  


\--

  
  


Wonwoo sighs. He leans back on the cold park bench and shoves his freezing hands deeper in the pockets of his hoodie knowing full well that it won't make his hands any warmer. He looks up at the dark night sky and laughs to himself. He's gotten this pathetic in a span of three weeks so it's really laughable. He checks the time on his phone and stops when he sees Seungcheol's face smiling at him. He locks his phone quickly and pockets it in his jeans. It's already a few minutes after midnight so he thinks he's safe to go back to their dorm now. He wills himself to stand and drags his feet on the way back to their building.

If you're still wondering if the night went well for Wonwoo, well, It didn't.

Not even a little bit. 

  
  


He's was alright for the first half hour, really. Yuta's apparently loaded with cash because he's managed to rent out a house for the night right at the edge of the campus just so he could throw a party. So Wonwoo follows Taeyong, they greeted Yuta together, then Wonwoo pretended to get something to drink just so he could escape Taeyong and Yuta's attempt to drag him to their friends. Almost everyone of their friends were in one corner of the room so all he had to do was find a spot far from them and out of their sight. Which worked. He situated himself on the far end of the couch, just one bottle of beer for him tonight since he has a lot of plates to rush in the morning, and he's managed to fill another cup with fries and chips from the food pile. He thought the less he'd have to move, the less he'd be seen. 

A few people talk to him, asking how he knew Yuta, what's his course, if he was the guy with Chungha on Chungha's party, stuff like that. Afterwards their conversation would stop and Wonwoo would go back to sipping his beer and tilting the cup of fries to his mouth and half heartedly chewing it. After a while they brought out a cake and Wonwoo stands on the far end while everyone crowd against Yuta. Yuta laughs heartily as at least five people covered his face with frosting from the cake and Wonwoo's view had been obstructed by a bunch of phones when Yuta stood up and chased Johnny around the room with a handful of cake in one hand. A few people chased them around with their phones up and the rest dispersed into their own little groups. But their group went on different ways. 

Taeyong and Ten stayed on the couch they're on as the others go around the room, Jun moving to a group of people by the door and he pulls Kun in to introduce him to them. Doyoung lets himself be dragged by Soonyoung towards the kitchen, probably out to get more drinks. Jihoon and Hansol made their way to the food in the dining table and Wonwoo lets himself watch when Hansol lifts up a chip to Jihoon's mouth and then moves it so Jihoon bites at his finger, Jihoon giving him a disgusted look but still accepting the chip when Hansol offers it for real. And Seungcheol was still nowhere to be seen. 

Wonwoo thought that was a great time to talk to them one by one. Maybe talk to Jihoon while Hansol was there to keep him from stabbing Wonwoo with the wooden chopsticks on the table, or maybe he could ambush Soonyoung and Doyoung in the kitchen.

He was about to head up to Jihoon and Hansol when he sees Seungcheol come out from the door beside the dining area. 

He doesn't know what exactly happened but he freezes. Like how your laptop would immediately freeze up when you accidentally click a pop up ad and it flashes barrage of pop ups. Right now, Wownoo's that laptop.

But Wonwoo doesn't panic.

He stops and stares as people happily and loudly greet Seungcheol when they pass him by and he greets them just as happily and even louder. He then goes straight to the table and says something to Hansol over the table. Hansol then picks something from the table and throws it upward towards Seungcheol mouth and they both cheer when it went in. Seungcheol laughs and his head turns around the room, Jihoon did the same and he glances by Wonwoo's direction and Wonwoo quickly hid behind the guy next to him.

That's when he starts to panic.

He panics. He knew Jihoon saw him. He peeks over the guy's shoulder and sees Seungcheol heading in the kitchen with Hansol so he figured Jihoon went in first. He leaves the bottle and cup he's holding on top of the coffee table he passes by and he makes his way for the sliding door at the side of the house. He walks as fast as he could around the house and walked up to the sidewalk, away from them and back towards their campus. Wonwoo checks the time and sees it's just around nine. He doesn't know where to go but he keeps walking. He keeps walking and walking, not really heading somewhere. More of walking away from somewhere.

Wonwoo ended up going to the park absentmindedly and he stayed there until he thinks it's safe to come to their dorm. But halfway through walking back to their dorm he hears someone yell out his name and turns and sees Jihoon running up to him. He was wearing a plain white button up shirt and black pants and a dark blue bandanna tied around his neck, matching the hoodie he's wearing that Wonwoo's pretty sure belongs to someone else.

"Is disappearing after a party a habit of yours? Where the hell have you been?" Jihoon asks him. He sounded more confused than irritated. But the irritation was still there. Very clearly still there. Jihoon catches his breath as Wonwoo stares at him with wide eyes.

"Uhm… Around? I was just at the park." Wonwoo says, unsure. 

"For… three whole hours?" Jihoon asks in between pants and Wonwoo nods timidly. He shifted his weight between his legs as Jihoon takes a deep breath and stands up straight. He looks up at Wonwoo and Wonwoo's surprised that he looked... nervous?

"Can we- uh... Can we talk?" Jihoon asks and Wonwoo stares again. Wonwoo nodded and Jihoon pointed at the bench on the side walk a few feet away. Wonwoo nodded and they walked over the bench and sat down in silence.

Wonwoo's mind was going a hundred miles per hour and he feels like his heart is beating even faster than that. He fiddles with his fingers inside his hoodie's pocket and thinks of possible things Jihoon would want to say. Maybe he'd want to officially unfriend Wonwoo in facebook as well? Or maybe Jihoon was here to talk him into moving out since they know he's scared of Jihoon? Or maybe someone just wanted to say something rude to Wonwoo and they knew he's scared of Jihoon... What if it's Johnny? Or Soonyoung? What if it's Seungcheol? What if it's Hansol? If Wonwoo managed to piss off Hansol he's sure he deserve whatever wrath he has to face.

"I'm sorry. About the stuff I said." Jihoon says. Wonwoo nods and then catches himself and whips his head towards Jihoon.

_ Wait, what? _

"Wait, what?" Wonwoo blurts out. Stupidly. Jihoon sighs. He looks down on his lap and pocket's his hands as well.

"I'm sorry. What i said weren't... It wasn't fair to you, what i did. I know that now." Wonwoo stares. Shocked. 

"I wasn't gonna tell anyone what happened until we talked about it but Soonyoung was in the room... So, you know...  _ Everyone knew _ the following day." Jihoon chuckles at that and Wonwoo can't help the small laughter that escapes his mouth as well. 

"I wasn't being fair to you. Hansol made sure I understood that. I'm not supposed to, like, put some sort of requirement on being friends like that." Jihoon says but Wonwoo shakes his head.

"But you were right, you know. I'm not- I haven't been a really great friend to any of you. I haven't since the beginning of the semester, to be honest." Wonwoo admits. He admits it to himself more than he is to Jihoon. Jihoon turns to look at him and Wonwoo gave him a smile. 

"I mean, I don't- I'm not really good with people to begin with, you know? And all of a sudden i have, what? A dozen new people in my life all at once." Wonwoo says.

"But not that i'm, like, making excuses or something. I'm not. I just want you to know where I'm coming from, okay?" Wonwoo says and Jihoon gave him a weird look.

"Why are you explaining? I'm the one apologizing." Jihoon says and Wonwoo was a bit confused at that.

"Yeah but, like, I wanna apologize, too. I just want to be okay with everyone again, you know?" Wonwoo says and Jihoon gave him a confused look.

"That's why I'm apologizing. Soonyoung's been moping ever since when we go out for lunch. He feels guilty." Wonwoo's mind just stops processing everything and reboots itself. 

"Wait, what? Why?" 

"Because he... he said maybe if he stood up for you that time you wouldn't be mad at him." Jihoon explains and Wonwoo's just getting more and more confused.

"Wait... Wait wait wait. He thinks  _ I'm _ mad at him?" Wonwoo asks and Jihoon gave him an unsure look.

"Aren't you? Mad? At, like...  _ all of us _ ?" Jihoon asks and Wonwoo just stares.

"Uh... I thought you guys were mad at me." Wonwoo admits and Jihoon looks at him incredulously.

"What? Everyone's been adding up to my guilt this whole time! We wanted to talk to you sooner but you're always gone." Jihoon explains and Wonwoo sees where this is heading.

"I'm not! You guys were avoiding me so i was going to places I know you guys wouldn't go." Wonwoo explained. 

"You thought we were avoiding yous so you... started avoiding us?" Jihoon asks and Wonwoo thinks.

"I guess if you put it that way... then yeah. I guess I'd rather not see you guys than see you guys trying your best to avoid me." Wonwoo admits. 

"But we weren't avoiding you!" Jihoon argues.

"Yeah you were! You guys never came to the library afterwards..." Wonwoo says and Jihoon lets out a small  _ oh _ .

"Okay. That's kind of my fault. And Soonyoungs." Jihoon says.

"But mostly my fault." Jihoon adds.

"I felt... bad. And kind of- Come on. I wouldn't know what to say if i did come. And Soonyoung said he was embarrassed." Jihoon says.

"But when we did come by you were... uh.. you were with Chungha." Jihoon says. Wonwoo's eyes widened and he turns his head to look at the road in front of him. 

They saw him crying to Chungha. Which is not as bad as it sounds. 

"So this whole time you all thought I was, like, mad?" Wonwoo asks. He turns to Jihoon and he nods.

"Even the others?" Jihoon shrugs.

"Not really? I guess they just don't want to get in between... it? Everyone's sort of still pissed at me for starting this whole thing up." Wonwoo felt bad. He felt bad that he thought he was the only one feeling left out when all this time he's been the one going through lengths just to avoid them. And apparently Jihoon's the one being left out.

"But you're still right, you know." Jihoon looks at him.

"About?" 

"About being a better friend." He sees Jihoon about to argue so he continues.

"I know. I know. Someone once told me that being a bad friend doesn't make me a bad person. But I was a bad friend. I realized that I was only letting my shit out onto everyone and i barely let them tell me anything about them. Like, I can tell you exactly where any of you will be at any given time but i don't even know any of your birthdays." Jihoon smiles at that.

"So that's why you're so good at avoiding us." Jihoon teases and Wonwoo laughs.

"Yeah, that. And I found a few new places to hang out so I was... It wasn't that hard. And when Chungha or Taeyong were busy, it's easier to find tables for one, so..." Wonwoo admits and then something hits him.

"Wait. Then why was Taeyong hanging out with me?" Wonwoo asks. Jihoon gave him an  _ are you serious _ look and Wonwoo shrugs.

"Who do you think would ask someone to make sure you're alive and actually eating?" Jihoon asks and that's when Wonwoo gets it. 

"He was looking for you, y'know..." Jihoon adds.

"Before you magically disappeared literally a second after i saw you, he was asking if we've seen you. He asked Tae to drag you to the party." Jihoon says. Wonwoo smiles despite himself. 

"And it's not true. What I said." Jihoon says.

"I mean, yeah, Seungcheol did keep asking us about you. It was annoying, yeah. But we didnt'- I didn't become your friend just because he told me to. You're a great friend, Wonwoo. Yeah you suck at trying to know people with the trivial kind of stuff but, you're a really great friend." Jihoon says and Wonwoo stare as he keeps going.

"I'm pretty sure you're the only one who knows Hansol gets hot easily. And that Soonyoung likes spicy food but he has shit tolerance for it. Or how Doyoung's phone is always dead for some reason so you always let him use your power bank in the library. And you're also the first to ask Hansol about me." Jihoon says and Wonwoo felt embarrassed by that somehow.

"It's okay. Hansol likes you a lot. He told me that he never noticed how much we were together if you hadn't pointed it out. So after that he asked me out." Jihoon smiles and Wonwoo scoots closer to nudge Jihoon with his elbow.

"So, how long ago was that?" Wonwoo asks. Jihoon laughs.

"I didn't say yes." Jihoon says and Wonwoo hits him in the shoulder.

"Why the fuck not?! Lee Jihoon!" Jihoon shoves Wonwoo away and Wonwoo moves closer.

"I'm serious. You like him too, right?" Wonwoo asks and Jihoon nods.

"He's  _ eighteen _ , Wonwoo. He's in college and he's just eighteen. I don't want to like, add up to that." Jihoon then stands up and wraps the hoodie around his body tighter. 

"Come on, let's get back before we freeze our balls off." Wonwoo stands up as well and they walk side by side.

"I'm serious though. Maybe you can even help him relieve stress, you know." Wonwoo says and Jihoon gives him a horrified look.

"Okay, not like  _ that _ . Geez. I meant, just being with you is probably relief enough for him. Hansol looks like the sappy type." Wonwoo says and Jihoon laughs.

"Yeah, he is." Jihoon admits and Wonwoo laughs.

"See! I'm sure he'd be thrilled to be official." Wonwoo adds and Jihoon heaves out a deep breath.

"Yeah. Or the label would get to his head and he'd feel some sort of pressure from it and we'd end up pushing each other away." Jihoon says. Wonwoo rolls his eyes.

"This is Hansol we're talking about, right? He literally bought me lunch when Seungcheol told him i called them my friends after the second day here." Wonwoo adds. Jihoon groans.

"Fine. I'll think about it okay. Now stop talking before i regret apologizing to you." Jihoon snaps and Wonwoo knew better than to think that there was any really heat behind it. So Wonwoo throws and arm around Jihoon's shoulder and pulls him closer to his side. Jihoon grumbles about liking Wonwoo better when he was avoiding them and Wonwoo smiles as they make their way to their dorm talking about what they missed on each other's days.

  
  
  


Wonwoo went up the stairs as soon as Jihoon gets in his room and he's somehow dreading going in his room. But it's already one in the morning, he is really really cold, and he's really tired. So he slips in his key and gets inside the room, closing the door behind him and locking it. He turns around and sees Seungcheol sitting on the head of Wonwoo's bed, leaning on the wall to his right as he snores. Wonwoo can't help but smile. 

Wonwoo toes off his shoes and takes off his socks. He walks around and kneels in front of Seungcheol as he wakes him up. Seungcheol wakes up slowly, blinking his eyes slowly, until his eyes focus on Wonwoo and he tenses up. Wonwoo pats his thigh and stands up.

"Let's talk in the morning. Is that okay?" Wonwoo asks. Seungcheol's pout meant he really wanted to wait up for Wonwoo and for them to talk this out but he eventually nodded.

"Can I sleep next to you?" Seungcheol asks. Wonwoo's kind of hurt he had to ask. He never did before, neither of them had any reason to ask before. Wonwoo nods and pulls the covers down as he crawls to the other side of the bed. Seungcheol lies down properly once Wonwoo was already lying down. He keeps a small space in between them as they stare at each other, Seungcheol's lashes fluttering as Seungcheol tries to keep his eyes open. Wonwoo smiles and places his hand on top of Seungcheol's in between them.

"I'm sorry." Wonwoo says. Seungcheol shakes his head no and Wonwoo finds himself smiling as Seungcheol pouts. Wonwoo lifts his hand open and tells Seungcheol it's okay. Seungcheol then latches himself onto Wonwoo. Tangling their legs together as he buries his face under Wonwoo's jaw. His hands were around Wonwoo in an instant and Wonwoo wraps his arms around the elder's shoulders. Seungcheol's asleep in a matter of seconds and Wonwoo smiles to himself in the dark. He closes his eyes and pulls the covers up under Seungcheol's chin and lets sleep take over his body.

That was the first time in almost a month that Wonwoo wasn't cold when he falls asleep. 

  
  
  


Wonwoo wakes up to someone banging on their door and Seungcheol yelling at them to go away.

"Let me talk to him!" Wonwoo hears Soonyoung's voice behind the door and he smiles. Seungcheol groans and grabs for something on the floor before flinging it to the closed door. Soonyoung stops for a few seconds before he bangs his fist on the door again.

"Did you just- Did you just  _ throw _ something at me through the door?" Soonyoung yells and Seungcheol sits up. 

"Yeah and I'll make sure to throw it through the open door and right at your face if you  _ don't shut up _ ." Seungcheol yells and Soonyoung whines behind the door before they hear the door next door closes. 

Wonwoo sits up and Seungcheol flinches at first before his shoulder sags.

"What time is it?" Wonwoo asks. He lies back down, now in the middle of the bed as Seungcheol grabs for his phone.

"Almost ten." Seungcheol says. Going back to Wonwoo's bed and crawling on top of Wonwoo, his chin propped up on the back of his hands as they were laid palm down on Wonwoo's chest. He places his body between Wonwoo's legs as Wonwoo cards his fingers through the elders hair and Seungcheol humms.

"Do you have something you have to do today?" Seungcheol asks, his eyes cast down on Wonwoo's chest and Wonwoo nods. 

"But it can wait until after I apologize." Wonwoo adds. Seungcheol frowns.

"No. You don't have to. I overreacted. That's it." Seungcheol says. He was about to push himself up but Wonwoo wraps his arms around his neck and pulls him down. 

"You didn't. I was being moody, and whiney, and dramatic because I had a bad day. But that doesn't- that's not an excuse to be an ass. I'm really sorry i let my frustrations out on you. And for the things I said. I wasn't thinking straight. I would never intentionally hurt you or offend you like that. Or in any way, really. But i did. So I'm really sorry." Wonwoo says. Seungcheol looks up at him with a soft smile on his face and Wonwoo smiles back. 

"I missed you." Wonwoo says. 

"I missed you, too. I'm sorry I ran away." Seungcheol says and Wonwoo shook his head.

"I was just worried about where you were staying. But Tae keeps me updated so, that's good." Wonwoo says.

"That  _ bitch _ . I told him to update me about you, not the other way around." Seungcheols grumbles and Wonwoo laughs.

"I'm glad he did, though." Wonwoo adds. Seungcheol smiles up at him and lifts himself up to hover over Wonwoo's face. He smiles and stares at Wonwoo's eyes for a while before Wonwoo laughs.

"Yes or no?" Seungcheol asks.

"Just kiss me already." Wonwoo says and Seungcheol did.

Seungcheol leans down, his hands on either side of Wonwoo's face digging down on his pillow, and gives Wonwoo a kiss. He lifts himself up after a few seconds and lies down half on top of Wonwoo as he buries his face on Wonwoo's neck.

"I'm gonna have to get up now, Cheol. I have a lot of things to finish." Wonwoo says, trying to push Seungcheol off of him.

"Five more minutes." Seungcheol says as he wraps his arms under Wonwoo's back. Wonwoo laughs and lets Seungcheol trap him for a few more minutes.

He misses how Seungcheol would smell next to him in the morning, how warm Wonwoo feels next to Seungcheol regardless if it was cold out or not. How Seungcheol would press his cheek on his skin or shirt softly as he rubs his legs against Wonwoo's. How he would humm whenever Wonwoo plays with his hair and would sometimes even fall back to sleep if Wonwoo spreads his fingers on the back of Seungcheol head and rubs his thumb on the small patch of skin behind the elder's ear. Right now he can feel him smiling on his neck as he rubs his nose on Wonwoo's skin. Wonwoo catches himself smiling as he closes his eyes, just savoring the moment as much as he can.

Well, as much as he can with all the banging coming through their door.

"Come on! I just  _ wanna talk to him _ ! Jihoon said they already talked so it's only fair that I get to talk to him, too!" Soonyoung yells through their door. Seungcheol huffs and lifts his upper body up so he was scowling down at Wonwoo.

"What?" Wonwoo asks and Seungcheol just kept scowling.

"Make him stop." Seungcheol says and Wonwoo laughs.

"Hey, Soon!" Wonwoo yells. Soonyoung then stops banging on the door and Wonwoo sees Soonyoung's shadow on their curtain as he tries to look inside. 

"Won! Let me in! I just wanna talk!  _ I'm sorry!" _ Soonyoung whines and Seungcheol rolls his eyes. Wonwoo gave him a pointed look and Seungcheol went back to his place before.

"Hey, wanna go out later around three?" Wonwoo asks. 

"Yes! Yes, okay! I'll see you later! Bye!! I love you! And tell Seungcheol he sucks and that  _ he's an ass!" _ Soonyoung says. Seungcheol was about to say something back but Wonwoo wraps his arm around the elder's head and covered his mouth. 

"Okay. See you later!" Wonwoo says and he sees Soonyoung's shadow disappear from their window and waits for the sound of the closed door before Wonwoo lets go of Seungcheol's mouth.

"You're a child." Wonwoo says and Seungcheol just buries his face on Wonwoo's neck again.

"And you're with me. Says a lot about you." Seungcheol says and Wonwoo rolls his eyes. 

"You are still... We are still together, right?" Seungcheol asks softly and Wonwoo nods.

He then pinches the elders ears as Seungcheol laugh out loud, trying to pull away Wonwoo's hand from his ear.

They spent the entire morning in bed, eating something Seungcheol made that's kept in their fridge instead of going out. They would've spent the entire Sunday together if it weren't for Soonyoung banging on their door five minutes before three o'clock, asking Wonwoo if he was ready. 

  
  


By monday, Wonwoo's schedule changed once again.

Most of which went back to normal.

Most.

  
  


Waking up next to Seungcheol. Lunch with Soonyoung, or Chungha, or Taeyong, or any combination of the three. Their library sessions filling up with hushed laughter and soft murmurs again, with one seat still remaining empty. Dinner with Seungcheol or Chungha. Then sleeping next to Seungcheol after he pretends to pack for a night over at Chungha's.

But there was still some sort of weight in the air, a little bit of strain on what used to be. 

And Wonwoo thinks he knows why.

Wonwoo thinks Jihoon knows why, too. Given that he pushes Hansol down on his seat when they were about to head out of the library and pulls Soonyoung and Doyoung out of the room by the back of their shirts while giving Wonwoo a wink. 

Hansol visibly fidgeted in his seat across the table and Wonwoo feels guilt grips his neck. 

"You look like I'm about to ground you for sneaking out past bedtime." Wonwoo says and Hansol stares at him for a second before laughing out loud.

"Yeah, well..." Hansol trails off. Wonwoo sighs as he sees Hansol staring at the table as he rubs the back of his neck. 

"I'm sorry. For acting like that. I know I was a dick and-"

"Don't. Please. It's okay, really. Jihoon's just being stupid." Hansol says and Wonwoo snorts when Hansol stares at him with a terrified look.

"Don't tell him I said that." Hansol says and Wonwoo laughs. Hansol's face breaks into a wide grin and Wonwoo nods.

"I won't tell on one condition." Wonwoo says and Hansol nods.

"Well, I know this really cool convenience store that sells coffee ice cream and I don't have anyone to go with." Wonwoo says and Hansol smiles.

"I thought they sell mango ice cream?" Hansol says and Wonwoo shrugs.

"Technicalities." Wonwoo says and Hansol laughs.

"Wanna go now?" Hansol asks and Wonwoo stands up and shoulders his bag.

"Sure." Wonwoo says and Hansol walks out with him and Wonwoo smiles at the slight bounce on his steps.

Wonwoo slings an arm around Hansol's neck and they walk past Jihoon who was waiting by the door.

"You two look cozy." Jihoon says and Wonwoo smiles.

"We're going on a date. Don't bother us for like, an hour." Wonwoo says and Hansol laughs. He sees Jihoon rolls his eyes before he catches up to them and walks out of the library with them with a threat of taking Seungcheol out for dinner. 

And that's how Wonwoo spent his tuesday evening. 

Eating vanilla ice cream on a slightly disgusting table outside a convenience store, with a bag of chips open in front of them as he lets Hansol update him on his life. Hansol's grin doesn't leave his face the entire time he talks and they're well into their second bag of honey flavored chips by the time Seungcheol messages Wonwoo that he misses him. They walked back together with Wonwoo's arm around Hansol's neck and Hansol's laughter echoing off the dark. 

  
  


\--

Halloween, much to Wonwoo's dismay, falls on a friday. 

He had no idea how the campus celebrates Halloween, or if they celebrate it at all. But he wakes up friday morning with Seungcheol wearing white bunny ears paired with a white shirt under a white overalls that goes down to his mid thighs. He stands in front of Wonwoo's bed with his hands outstretched, smiling. 

"What do you think?" Seungcheol asks. Wonwoo blinks at him and Seungcheol just kept on smiling.

"Bunny?" Wonwoo says. Seungcheol laughs and moves closer to Wonwoo's bed and gave him a quick kiss on the lips before heading out.

Wonwoo's morning classes were cancelled.

But he didn't know until he was already sitting in his chair for his first class. He groans when the other three people inside the room were talking about the class being cancelled and when he checks in on Seungcheol and Taeyong, they said most professors do that during halloween. Wonwoo groans and was on his way back to their dorm when Chungha's name appeared on his phone, a call.

"Did you know that most people cancel their classes during halloween?" Chungha asks through the phone and Wonwoo chuckles.

"Yes. I found out after sitting inside our room for fifteen minutes." Wonwoo says and Chungha groans.

"I am so tired of this university. I swear, I'm gonna work  _ so _ hard and get rich just so i can buy this university and control everything." Chungha vents and Wonwoo laughs.

"That sounds promising. Nothing motivates you better than spite." Wonwoo says and Chungha laughs.

"Damn right." She says.

"Well, wanna get breakfast? Or brunch, i guess? I'm starving and I'm not waiting for lunch time to eat." Chungha says.

"Sure." Wonwoo says. Then he remembers his plans with Soonyoung.

"Can I bring Soonyoung along? He'll cry if I don't eat lunch with him." Wonwoo jokes and Chungha laughs.

"Yeah. Okay. You want to go to the cafe or the pasta place?" Chungha asks. Those were the two places they would always choose from for a few weeks now and Wonwoo thinks for a second before answering back.

"You know what? I have somewhere I want you to try. Meet us by the gate in like, half an hour?" Wonwoo says and he hears Chunga groan.

"Half an hour? I want to eat, like, half an hour ago." Chungha whines and Wonwoo laughs.

"I'm still not sure where the food you eat goes to, but i'm gonna assume it goes straight to your hair." Wonwoo teases.

"It goes straight to my dick." Chungha says in a serious tone and Wonwoo laughs.

"Look, I'm gonna have to get Soonyoung first and I'm pretty sure he's still sleeping. Come on, It'll be worth it, I promise." Wonwoo says and Chungha sighs.

"Fine. This place better be good or it'll be my turn to disown you. And I'll be very dramatic about it, too! I'll cry in the library and walk around campus like a zombie and everything." Chungha says and Wonwoo laughs before hanging up. He tries to call Soonyoung next and, just like he thought, No answer. He smiles to himself and starts walking back to their dorm. 

  
  


Forty-five minutes later, Wonwoo, Chungha, and a half awake Soonyoung walks in inside Mr. Jung's place. There were a few tables taken already and Wonwoo smiles when Mr. Jung smiles when up at him.

"Well isn't this a surprise." Mr. Jung says and Wonwoo sees Chungha smiling at him.

"Hey Mr. Jung." Wonwoo greets and Wonwoo pulls Soonyoung in as they walk up the counter. 

"Here for an early lunch or just some morning snacks?" Mr. Jung asks them.

"Lunch, please." Chungha says and Mr. Jung smiles at her.

"Well, we have tons of dishes to choose from. Pasta, rice dishes, we even have some savory pastries, if that's more your thing." Mr. Jung says.

"Ooh. I want to try the cheesy meatball pasta, please." Chungha says. Wonwoo looks to his left and sees Soonyoung staring at the menu blankly.

"He'll have the kimchi fried rice with chicken fillet. And I'll have chicken pesto. Oh, and can you make the fried rice less spicy? He's not too good with spicy food." Mr. Jung writes up their order and smiles up at Wonwoo.

"Of course. Any drinks?" 

"Coffee for him." Chungha says, pointing at Soonyoung and Wonwoo shakes his head no.

"He doesn't like caffiene all that much." Wonwoo says and Chungha looks at Wonwoo like he said something stupid.

"Who in college doesn't like caffeine?" Chungha says and Mr. Jung smiles.

"How about a cup of hot dark chocolate?" Mr. Jung asks Soonyoung and Soonyoung stares and nods. 

"Iced black tea for me. With almond milk." Wonwoo adds and Chungha whips her head up to the menu.

"Oh wow. You actually have actual teas." Chungha says and Mr. Jung chuckles. 

"We've been serving tea for years. It's only recently that we added all these other flavors and stuff that you kids seem to love." Chungha nods.

"Uhm, black tea for me, too. But with brown sugar." Chungha says. Mr. Jung nods and repeats their order. Wonwoo nods and asks Chungha to pick a table and Soonyoung lets himself be pulled by Chungha.

  
  


"The Halloween decors are nice." Wonwoo says. Mr. Jung laughs. Mr. Jung hangs their order on the window and a hand came up to grab it while Mr. Jung starts with their drinks.

"I'm glad you think so. Jaehyun stayed up all night to hang those spiders and cobwebs." Mr. Jung explains and Wonwoo can imagine Jaehyun climbing up the tables to place these fake spiders around the ceiling. 

"I told him we don't need to put any decors but he insisted. Told me that they'll attract customers. I told them if they wanted to attract customers they should dress up for the day." Wonwoo chuckles at that as Mr. Jung pours something on two tall glasses. Wonwoo assumes it's the black tea.

"That would be funny." Wonwoo says. Mr. Jung then finishes up their drink with ice, a teaspoon of brown sugar on one and milk on the other up until the glass was full. He places them on a tray and pours the hot chocolate on a mug before placing it on the tray as well.

"Well… You'll see." Mr. Jung says and Wonwoo was about to ask what he meant but a new customer comes in and headed straight for the counter. He thanks Mr. Jung for the drinks and brings it over to their table.

Chungha was taking pictures of the place as Soonyoung had his cheek pressed on the table, staring at Wonwoo as he walks towards them.

"Black tea with brown sugar for the lady. And a cup of hot chocolate for the baby." Wonwoo says. Soonyoung gave him a cold look before taking a sip of his drink.

"This place is so nice. And the mirror on this wall makes it feel like it's bigger than it is." Chungha says and Wonwoo nods. 

"That's an actual thing, really. Makes things feel more spacious." Wonwoo explains.

"It's more like, tricking the mind by making it seem like the place is bigger so you'll feel like it's bigger. Like, another example is painting the ceiling black on like, clubs and dimly lit places which makes it seem like the ceiling is actually higher." Wonwoo continues. Chungha listens intently with a smile on her face as she takes a sip of her drink.

"What?" Wonwoo asks.

"What? Nothing. Keep going." Chungha says with a smile and Wonwoo frowns.

"What? Do i sound stuck up? Too nerdy?" Wonwoo asks and he hears a familiar chuckle behind him.

"You will never be too nerdy." Wonwoo hears from behind and he sees Seungcheol smiling at them with a tray of food in his hands.

"Meatball spaghetti?" Seungcheol asks and Chungha raises her hand. He places her plate in front of her and she thanks him. 

"I'm gonna assume the fried rice is for Soon, then. And chicken pesto for my nerd." Seungcheol says and places their plates in front of them. He sees Chungha taking pictures of Seungcheol and Wonwoo was about to ask why. But then he sees Seungcheol's supposedly bunny outfit and smiles.

"This is a great look for you." Chungha says and Soonyoung smiles.

"You look like a farmer." Soonyoung says and Seungcheol smiles.

"A gay, rabbit farmer." Soonyoung adds and all of them laugh.

"Thanks." Seungcheol says genuinely and Wonwoo rolls his eyes.

"Wait. You're... Is Jaehyun dressed up like this, too?" Wonwoo asks and Seungcheol laughs before running back to the kitchen. They hear someone yell from inside and after a couple of minutes Seungcheol comes out with Jaehyun in tow. Wearing a similar outfit but instead of bunny ears, he has on cat ears and a tail peeking from behind his legs. Wonwoo laughs, takes out his phone, and takes pictures of them as Seungcheol smiles and Jaehyun glares.

Their lunch went on well. Seungcheol and Chungha officially meeting, Chungha being a pain and making fun of Seungcheol by clinging onto Wonwoo's arm, Seungcheol actually falling for it, and Wonwoo finds out that Seungcheol had actually been helping in the kitchen since october. Soonyoung wakes up eventually and asks Chungha about the dance troop she's in. They ended up agreeing on meeting up on a studio they practice in and Soonyoung smiles at Wonwoo, asking him to come. Chungha laughs out loud saying Wonwoo only dances when he's drunk and Wonwoo can't even argue with that. Wonwoo checks in on his schedule and tries to message some people in his classes for updates and apparently he only has to go to his last class for today. Chungha announces that she has a class at one and Soonyoung says he has to go back to check his classes as well. Wonwoo was about to stand up and walk back to campus with them but Chungha says they can go back on their own. They paid for their meals separately and Chungha thanks Mr. Jung before saying she'll bring all her friends here. Mr. Jung thanks her and she and Soonyoung makes their way outside.

Wonwoo stays at their table for a while, he sees Seungcheol and Jaehyun taking turns in going outside to serve food while Mr. Jung stays by the counter and smiles at them and their ridiculous attempt to get customers. Wonwoo then hatches a plan and send a message to a few people. Seungcheol comes out of the kitchen with a tray in his hands and he winks at Wonwoo before greeting the customers and placing their food on the table. Wonwoo smiles at him and rolls his eyes, feigning annoyance like he wasn't the least bit swooning on the inside. He received responses to more people than he had sent a message to and rolls his eyes as he sent them his location. 

Fifteen minutes passed and Taeyong emerges through the door with Yuta in tow. Behind them are Ten, Johnny, Hansol, Jihoon, and Jun. Taeyong smiles at Wonwoo and just as he was about to greet them, Seungcheol emerges from the kitchen with a massive smile on his face that fell off his face as soon as he saw the group smiling up at him. Yuta pulls out his phone from his jeans was laughing out loud as he takes a bunch of photos. 

"I like this look on you." Taeyong says in a serious voice and Seungcheol frowns at him. 

"Yeah, the furry farmer get up looks  _ great _ on you buddy." Johnny adds and Seungcheol ignores them completely and serves the food he has to the customer as their little group lined up to order. 

Wonwoo watches as Mr. Jung laughs at everyone acting like idiots, pushing each other up front to order first which ended up with Johnny in the front of the line and Jihoon and Hansol behind him. Ten goes and sits with Wonwoo as Yuta and Taeyong look at the pastries through the display rack.

"Any classes today?" Ten asks Wonwoo and Wonwoo sighs.

"Yes. And it's my last class." Ten grins at him.

"That's so sad." Ten fakes sympathy and Wonwoo gave him a blank look.

"You don't have classes today, do you?" Wonwoo asks. Ten smiles brightly and nods.

"Not a single one." Wonwoo crumpled up a napkin and threw it at Ten's face. 

"I told you to come here to annoy Cheol, not me." Wonwoo said. He then hears someone huff out from behind him and he turns to see Seungcheol with his arms crossed in front of his chest. His glare not really doing anything paired with his lips pouting like they are. 

" _ Traitor _ ." Seungcheol says and Wonwoo laughs.

"I'm getting Mr. Jung more customers, okay. Stop being a baby." Seungcheol huffs out and stomps away to go back to the kitchen. 

Wonwoo decided to not put together the tables, since he knows they'll cause a lot more noise that way. So he sits with Yuta and Taeyong while Johnny and Ten shared a table with Hansol and Jihoon. Wonwoo received a message from Soonyoung that he'll come back later with Doyoung since they have classes and Jun replied to him that he and Kun are on their way. And as they wait for their food, people start piling in through the door. Wonwoo smiles as Mr. Jung's face brightens up when he sees a line forming and Wonwoo looks around and sees tables filling up one by one. Seungcheol and Jaehyun rushing in and out of the kitchen and Wonwoo almost feels sorry for the sudden rush of customers. Almost. 

  
  
  


Wonwoo sits at the back of the class just in case Architect Lee would dismiss them early. Wonwoo realizes it was all wishful thinking when he realizes that it's Architect Lee and just bares with their two hour class. He did make sure the time won't be wasted by actually doing his plates and after Architect Lee's last round of walking around and inspecting their work, he goes back to his table and packs his things. Wonwoo takes this as his cue to pack up as well, just like all of his classmates. 

"Have fun with your Friday evening. Youngjin, next time warn your professors if you're gonna wear a costume. Alright?" Wonwoo snickers as he stares at the well made up zombie packing his things. He bows his head and the entire class laughs softly at him. Architect Lee was a bit less strict nowadays and Wonwoo's sure he's not the only one dreading what exactly does that mean.

Architect Lee walks out after greeting them all a happy Halloween and Wonwoo pulls out his phone as he zips up his bag. He messages Seungcheol that he's on his way back to their dorm and asks him to buy him a couple of cream buns from Mr. Jung and Seungcheol replied with a slightly distasteful comment regarding a different kind of cream in a different kind of bun so Wonwoo rolls his eyes and left him on read. Wonwoo watches as a couple of apologies popped up from Seungcheol and then a series of emojis and hearts following it. Wonwoo rolls his eyes again and sent him an eye roll emoji followed by a heart. Seungcheol replied with a bunch of kissy emoji and Wonwoo walks towards the door as he locks his phone. He looks up and freezes. 

Minghao was waiting outside, by the door, Wonwoo notices him grabbing his canister in his hands as he looks sheepishly at his feet. Wonwoo walks up to him slowly and Minghao glances up at his face a couple of times before he ends up staring at Wonwoo's chest instead. 

"Hey." Minghao greets him. Wonwoo stares for a second.

"Hey." Wonwoo greets back. Minghao was shifting his weight from his left leg to his right leg and Wonwoo's a bit weirded out at how nervous Minghao seemed. 

"I just... I wanted to... Uhm." Minghao says. Wonwoo stares and waits as Minghao gulps, opens his mouth, closes it, takes a deep breath, groan, and then apologizes to Wonwoo before walking away.

Wonwoo stares at the younger's retreating back and Wonwoo has half a mind to run up to him and ask him what's really happening but his phone chimes repeatedly in his hand. He looks down and sees messages from Jun, asking him about where Soonyoung's room was, and Chungha, asking him about the party that night and what his costume would be. Wonwoo looks up and Minghao's gone. 

  
  
  


Wonwoo zones out as he walks home and he opens the door to their room with Seungcheol taking off his shirt as his suspenders are barely hanging on to his hips. Wonwoo closes the door a bit louder than usual and Seungcheol gave him a glance before turning back and fixing his overalls without his shirt.

"By all means, don't stop on my account." Wonwoo says and Seungcheol smiles at him. Seungcheol's arms and shoulders are on full display as well as his sides. His smooth, fair skin making his white overalls look a lot less white now. 

"And you call me the perv." Seungcheol says as he moves to his bed and takes off his shoes. 

"I'm not the one dressed like a kinky bunny farmer." Wonwoo comments and Seungcheol throws him a pillow. 

"This is not my kinky bunny outfit." Seungcheol says and Wonwoo drops his bag at the foot of his bed before flopping down on his back onto his bed. 

"So you do have a kinky bunny outfit." Wonwoo answers as he turns towards Seungcheol and Seungcheol gave him a smirk.

"Wouldn't you like to know..." Seungcheol says and Wonwoo feels himself blush. Seungcheol then grins and stand up to move to Wonwoo's bed. Wonwoo pulls himself up by propping his elbows up as Seungcheol crawls on top of him. Seungcheol smiles at him and gave him a quick kiss on the lips before smiling down at him. 

"What?" Wonwoo asks.

"Do you like my costume?" Seungcheol asks, tilting his head down so Wonwoo won't have any choice but to look at his eyelashes fluttering as he looks up at him. Seungcheol wraps his arms around Wonwoo's back as he presses his weight down on Wonwoo, his legs in between Wonwoo's. Wonwoo gulps and pushes himself back so he can lean back on the wall above his bed, so now Seungcheol's chin is right on his stomach. 

"Yeah, you looked cute earlier." Wonwoo runs a hand through Seungcheol's hair as Seungcheol smiles up at him. 

"Not earlier... my costume now." Wonwoo gulps as Seungcheol pushes himself up, moving his legs on either side of Wonwoo, leaving him sitting right on top of his thighs, his hands on Wonwoo's waist as he pushes himself up. 

"Can you guess what I am?" Seungcheol asks. Wonwoo has to actually put effort into thinking up some sort of response and Seungcheol laughs when he just stares. Seungcheol then leans in to the side of his face and Wonwoo can hear his breath fanning over his ears

"I'm a naughty bunny." Seungcheols says and Wonwoo stopped breathing.

Wonwoo's brain short circuits for a second. Seungheol's fingers slipped under his shirt and he lets his whole weight fall on his ass, pressing down on Wonwoo's thigh and, well, his crotch area. Wonwoo looks up at Seungcheol, smiling down innocently at him with his pretty brown eyes as his overalls barely hides anything anymore. Seungcheol leans down, his hands still on Wonwoo's waist, and hovers his face in front of Wonwoo's. Wonwoo's not gonna make him wait and just leans up his chin to close the space between their lips. It was innocent for barely five seconds since Seungcheol gasps from Wonwoo's hands on his sides and Wonwoo uses that to his advantage, trapping Seungcheol's lower lip in between his as he gently sucks on it. Seungcheol's hands move up to Wonwoo's sides, lifting his shirt up to his chest and Wonwoo shivers. Seungcheol kisses back just as intensely, sucking on Wonwoo's upper lip as they both try to control their breathing only through their noses. Seungcheol was tugging on Wonwoo's shirt and Wonwoo took that as him asking for him to take it off so Wonwoo pushes Seungcheol off a bit and raises his hands as Seungheol pulls his shirt off. Seungcheol discards it over his shoulder and delves into abusing Wonwoo's neck with open mouthed kisses. Wonwoo closes his eyes as Seungcheol sucks right on his throat and pulls him back when he starts sucking a bit more harshly. 

He pushes himself to sit up with Seungcheol, making the elder sit on his lap again. Wonwoo plays with the hook on Seungcheol's overalls and Seungcheol nods as he wraps his arms around Wonwoo's shoulders. Wonwoo unhooks Seungcheol's overalls and throws the strap over Seungcheol's back as the front fold in on itself, revealing Seungcheol's lean stomach. Wonwoo returns the favor and starts kissing at Seungcheol's collar bones. Right then Seungcheol tilts his head back and practically offers his neck to Wonwoo. Wonwoo moves up slowly to the elder's neck and was surprised at the low grunt Seungcheol let out as Wonwoo kissed his neck. Wonwoo pulls back and there's already a light blush creeping up Seungcheol's face. Wonwoo grins and tests the waters again, placing a gentle, open mouthed kiss on Seungcheol's neck. Wonwoo lifts his hand on Seungcheol's lower back, tracing the elder's spine as he drags his fingers up. Seungcheol shudders. Wonwoo smiles as he kisses Seungcheol throat and Seungcheol finally deemed he's had enough when he pulls Wonwoo back by his hair and kisses his lips hungrily. 

Wonwoo's arms were around Seungcheol's back as Seungcheol's hands were on either sides of Wonwoo's face. But he then snakes his right hand down to Wonwoo's neck, then to his shoulder, and he drags his fingers through the skin of Wonwoo's arm as he moves to grab hold of Wonwoo's left hand. He then presses Wonwoo's hands flat on his back and pushes it lower, and lower, going inside Seungcheol's overalls and over his ass... over where his underwear should be. 

_ Oh. _

Well, fuck.

Wonwoo freezes in the kiss and regained himself when Seungcheol's pushes his hand lower on his naked ass. Wonwoo stops and grips on Seungcheol's ass which made the elder gasped into the kiss. Wonwoo pulls away from the kiss and stares up at Seungcheol, cheeks tainted pink and his lips glistening from the light filtering in through the window. Seungcheol had the audacity to look  _ shy _ , his eyes darting around and refusing to meet Wownoo's, when  _ he _ was the one who made Wonwooo grope his ass. 

Wonwoo's not complaining about the groping part. Wonwoo's complaining about the being shy part, never the groping part.

Wonwoo gulps, lifts his hand back up to Seungcheol's waist, and leans forward to graze to tip of his nose with Seungcheol's. 

"Not yet." Wonwoo says, his lips brushing against the elder's as he speaks.

"Okay." Seungcheol leans in for a kiss, he pulls his arms back and lets his hands run up to Wownoo's shoulders up to the side of his neck. Wonwoo then scoots forward, his hands on Seungcheol's thighs on either side of his waist as he lifts him up, twists, and flops him down on the mattress. Seungcheol lays his arms above his head, making a show of his arms and neck as he tilts his head to the side as he looks up at Wonwoo. Seungcheol's obviously out to torment him, obviously, and Wonwoo's breathing picks up as Seungcheol moves one hand to Wonwoo's on his side. Wonwoo lets out a shaky breath. 

" _ Still _ no." Wonwoo says. Seungcheol had the nerve to smirk at him as his hand snakes up his arm and onto his jaw, cupping his cheek.

"I didn't say anything." Seungcheol says with a smug look on his face and Wonwoo rolls his eyes. Wonwoo leans down and hovers an inch away from Seungcheol's face.

"I'm just saying. You can be completely naked with chocolate syrup on and a sign that says "Dinner" and it's still a no. But the offer is appreciated.  _ Very  _ appreciated." Wonwoo says and Seungcheol laughs.

"All that can be arranged in under a minute, you know. I'm sure I have chocolate here somewhere." Seungcheol says and Wonwoo kisses him.

"Tempting." Wonwoo kisses him again. 

"Really fucking tempting." Another kiss.

"But it's still no." And another. This one slower and just  _ more  _ than the others. 

Seungcheol giggles, actually giggles into the kiss, and pulls Wonwoo away. Seungcheol's expression then falls a bit, a little sheepish, a little shy. Which is hilarious given that he literally just shoved Wonwoo's hand down onto his bare ass.

"Sorry. Didn't mean to sound so-"

"Needy?" Wonwoo cuts him off, teasing him with a smirk to lighten the shift in the mood. Seungcheol pushes himself to sit up and presses his back on the wall as he hugged the pillow in between his thighs.

"Desperate?" Seungcheol finishes with a nervous laugh. 

_ What? _

Wonwoo crawls forward and sits in front of Seungcheol. Seungcheol smiled reassuringly at him and Wonwoo kisses him. 

"It's understandable. I know how irresistible I am." Wonwoo teases and Seungcheol rolls his eyes.

Wonwoo plucks the pillow in between them and sets it aside. 

"I want to. I  _ honestly _ really want to. But I don't think I'm ready. Not yet, at least. Definitely not an hour before we have to go to a party." Seungcheol shakes his head and holds onto Wonwoo face with one hand and kisses him. 

"No no no. I didn't... You don't have to explain.  _ God _ , i feel like a jackass now. You don't need to explain yourself, honestly. You never have to justify it whenever it's a no, okay?  _ Never _ . I'm just..." Seungcheol struggles to find a word and the frustration is evident on his face.

"Thirsty? Starved?  _ Deprived _ ? I don't know. I just... I missed how you tasted and... And now whenever I see an opportunity to jump at you i get this sort of tunnel vision and- Okay. Hearing myself say that out loud makes it sound like I'm an actual pervert,  _ oh my God _ . I don't fucking know. You're making my brain melt and-  _ stop looking at me like that! _ " Seungcheol says, cheeks flushing as Wonwoo smiles wider.

He's definitely flattered.

So he voices it out and smiles when Seungcheol rolls his eyes. 

"But just to be clear," Wonwoo leans closer, kissing Seungcheol's jaw, "I missed how you tasted, too." Wonwoo pulls back and sees Seungcheol smiling. 

"And besides," Wonwoo pulls at Seungcheol's waist and lies him down, hovering over him with his hands on either side of the elder's head, "there's tons of other ways to have fun." Wonwoo says and Seungcheol laughs before pulling Wonwoo with a hand behind his neck and slotting their lips together. 

  
  
  


They ended up an hour late for the party. 

Yuta greets them by the door with a stern look but lets them go since they actually bothered with their costumes. 

Seungcheol gave Wonwoo a police officer costume that's two sizes too big on him. But Seungcheol made it work by unbuttoning a couple of buttons on top, making Wonwoo look like he's about to raid a sorority and start stripping. Wonwoo voices this out to the elder and Seungcheol tells him he has money if it was an actual offer and Wonwoo hits him with the plastic baton strapped to his belt. Seungcheol, on the other hand, was wearing a black fitted shirt and skinny jeans with a yellow  _ POLICE LINE, DO NOT CROSS _ tape spiraling his left leg and all over his shirt. The yellow and black makes his skin stand out even more and Wonwoo's not gonna admit that they could've just been half an hour late if it weren't for Seungcheol's costume. He's not. 

Seungcheol has his reasons for having to change his costume. Four reasons, to be exact.

He wanted to match with Wonwoo.

Wonwoo's hands.

Wonwoo's mouth.

And they don't have enough time to wash Seungcheol's  _ ruined _ overalls.

  
  


They make their way inside the same house Yuta rented for his birthday party and Yuta says he's actually rented it for a couple of months. Of course. So Yuta says that they can lounge about in here until the semester ends in December. Wonwoo thanks him for the offer and Seungcheol says he's definitely gonna abuse that offer. 

Wonwoo looks around and sees about the same people from before, but now he doesn't have to avoid the group of people seated around a couple of couches at the end of the room. 

The first one he notices is Soonyoung in all of his orange glory. He's wearing an orange tiger onesie, yeah. But what baffles Wonwoo is his now bright orange hair. He's pretty sure his hair was black just hours ago. He waves at them enthusiastically and starts arguing with Doyoung on the other side of the couch. Wonwoo takes a mental roll call and sees that everyone's here but not everyone's dressed up. 

Aside from Soonyoung's tiger onesie and his bright orange hair, it was Taeyong's costume that stood out. His silver hair and deep blue hoodie and brown pants screams Jack Frost and- yup, there on the side of the couch leaning by the wall is his, staff? stick thingy? Whatever. And next to him is Jihoon dressed normally, a loose white button up that's tucked in front of his black jeans, but with a brown furry cat ears on top of his head. It actually looks cute on him considering that it's exactly the same shade as his hair. Next to him is Hansol who is also wearing his usual outfit, his jacket probably hanging somewhere since he's only wearing a fit sleeveless shirt and loose denim jeans, and instead of cat ears, he has on a pair of flappy dog ears on top of his blonde hair. Wonwoo then looks at everyone else and sees them all not sporting a costume. 

"Seriously? No costume? I expected this from Doyoung, at least, but, Johnny? And you too Yuta. You're hosting the party." Seungcheol complains and Yuta laughs as he grabs for a mask on the table. He wears it at the side of his head and smiles at Wonwoo as he motions at it like he's supposed to get who he's dressed as but he hears Jihoon remind the elder that Wonwoo and Seungcheol knows absolutely nothing about anime. 

"I'm wearing a costume." Doyoung raises his hand. Wonwoo rolls his eyes as he stands and shows them his black shirt with the word  _ COSTUME _ spray painted in white in front of it. Wonwoo actually likes it but he's not gonna give Doyoung the satisfaction of praising his idea when he's suffering with his stripper police costume. 

"You're all unbelievable. And  _ that's _ barely a costume." Wonwoo says the last bit towards Jihoon who gave him a bored look.

" _ Bite me _ ." Jihoon retorts and Hansol laughs. 

"From the looks of Seungcheol's neck, I think he'd actually take you up on that offer, Ji." Doyoung says, glancing at the two as Seungcheol fixes his shirt to hide the peeking hickey at the base of his throat.

"Cool it. Don't mind them. Coolest costume gets a prize and coolest couple's costume get's something, too." Yuta nudges Wonwoo's side with his elbow and Wonwoo rolls his eyes. 

"Hey! You made it!" Yuta says from behind them and Wonwoo turns to see Chungha smiling, wearing a blue sweater dress and black boots and a huge black belt like thing on her waist. Her blonde hair was tied up in two ponytails on either side of her head and Wonwoo smiles when he realizes her costume.

"Bubbles? Really? You're more of a Blossom." Wonwoo teases and Chungha rolls her eyes before giving him a quick hug and then doing the same with Seungcheol before walking around and introducing her friends with the rest of the group. 

Blossom's real name was Nayoung, her red loose blouse and her black skin tight jeans paired up with her slightly intimidating face and reddish hair pulled back in a tight ponytail was all Wonwoo needed to decide that he will not approach her first. Buttercup was Kulkyung, She was wearing a loose green blouse with a black ribbon tied on the side of her waist with black shorts on and black thigh high socks with black sneakers. Her black wavy hair was waving softly around as she smiled and waved at everyone. 

Chungha and Kyulkyung sat on one of the sofas and it turns out Kyulkyung knew Jihoon already, which was a first. Because Jihoon never talks to anyone. But what surprised Wonwoo more was Nayoung walking up to them and smiling at him. 

"If I were you, I'd run away from that guy. You're too good for him." Nayoung told him pointing at a now frowning Seungcheol.

"I would, but we're roommates. I can't really run from him." Wonwoo jokes and Nayoung smiles.

"Wow, okay. Both of you are annoying." Seungcheol says and Wonwoo laughs.

"I'm Nayoung." She held out her hand and Wonwoo awkwardly takes her hand and shakes it as he introduces himself.

"Ah, so  _ you're _ the infamous Jeon Wonwoo. It's such an honor to finally meet you." Nayoung says, smiling at Seungcheol. 

"No." Seungcheol pulls Wonwoo back as Nayoung laughs. 

"Cheol, don't be rude." Wonwoo says and he smiles at Seungcheol.

" _ She's _ being rude." Seungcheol says, clearly annoyed.

"I love riling him up. He's like five." Nayoung says with a smile and Wonwoo nods.

"Personally i think he's at least six. The tantrums are more six year old-ish, you know?" Wonwoo says and Nayoung laughs.

Just then Chungha calls Nayoung over and she smiles before walking over to the couch. Wonwoo looks at Seungcheol and sees him actually frowning. He rolls his eyes, looks around and sees that no one's paying attention to them, and pulls Seungcheol's collar for a quick kiss.

"Stop pouting." Wonwoo says and Seungcheol tries to fight away a smile.

"That's not fair. You can't just kiss me everytime I'm upset with you." Seungcheol whines and Wonwoo laughs.

"I can't?" Wonwoo teases and Seungcheol rolls his eyes. 

Wonwoo looks around and sees the party is laid out like before so he makes his way to the kitchen for some food and maybe a drink and Seungcheol follows with the elder's hand in his. He still has a lot of work to do this weekend so he really can't afford more than just one drink. 

  
  
  
  


Wonwoo wakes up with with his throat dry and his head pounding to the sound of his heartbeat. He tries to recall anything from the night but he can't remember anything after his fifth bottle. He groans and turns to shove his face onto his pillow and he spreads his arms out, reaching out to see if Seungcheol's still beside him, and freezes when he realizes that he's in a bigger bed right now. Wonwoo suddenly regrets letting Soonyoung lead him through the night. 

He closes his eyes, squeezes them harder like that would help ease the pounding in his head, and groans when it didn't. Wonwoo tries to recall anything from last night again and he lists off all the stupid things he did. 

But he can't.

Now he regrets ever befriending Soonyoung. At all. 

His head pounds harder and he groans as he sits up and then his bladder starts screams for a toilet. He scrambles out of bed, almost face planting on the sheets as he crawls out, and sees Soonyoung on the floor with someone he doesn't remember to be there last night. He rubs at his eyes and stares as his eyes adjusts and he's sure that that's actually Mingyu, Soonyoung is actually using Mingyu as his pillow. Wonwoo thinks that maybe mattress is the better word for it as he looks down on the floor since he's practically lying half on top of the younger. Wonwoo's bladder screams again for a toilet and Wonwoo decides to just look for his glasses later on as he looks for a bathroom first.

After relieving himself and washing up a bit, Wonwoo goes down the stairs. He feels icky in his now open police uniform, he tries buttoning it close but aside from the two buttons on top, everyone else seems to have been ripped off. And he's kind of pissed that he couldn't find his shoes and socks. Wonwoo's feet are absolutely cold and the cold floor is not helping. 

He makes his way down and peeks his head around the dining room only to see Yuta seated on the dining table, munching on something in a bowl, and Taeyong seated on top of the counter as he talks. Then he sees Seungcheol's back over the stove, his black shirt now free of the yellow tape from the night before and Wonwoo pads through the dining room to sit on the bar stool next to where Taeyong was seated on the counter. 

He doesn't even acknowledge Yuta and Taeyong's knowing smiles as he takes a seat. Seungcheol glances back once, maybe just to see which of them got up, before turning back to what he's doing.

"Well, good morning to you." Taeyong says. Wonwoo's head rings and he shushes the elder. He hears a couple of laughter that adds onto his headache before Seungcheol scolds the other two. 

"Here." Seungcheol places a mug in front of Wonwoo and he grabs it with two hands and takes a cautious sip. It's black coffee with a ton of sugar. 

Seungcheol's  _ a saint _ . 

Wonwoo sighs and takes a generous sip before putting down the mug and pressing his forehead on the cold surface of the counter. 

"Poor baby." Taeyong teases, patting Wonwoo's head as he cooes. Wonwoo swats his hands away and Taeyong jumps off the counter before he could reach the elder to hit him. Wonwoo's head is way too heavy for this.

"Leave him alone or you're not getting breakfast." Seungcheol says over the counter and Wonwoo smiles to himself as he presses his forehead back on the cold comfortable counter. 

"This is Yuta's house, you can't take away my breakfast privileges!" Taeyong yells and Wonwoo wants to shove an entire pillow down Taeyong's mouth.

"Cook your own fucking food, then." Seungcheol answers back and Wonwoo smiles. His knight in... Floral apron, apparently. 

"Tae, sit down. Hey, Won. Is Soonyoung awake yet?" Yuta asks. 

"Nope. He seems pretty comfortable." Wonwoo says, not lifting his head as he speaks. He hears them snigger at that and he can't help but smile.

"What's his friend's name? Tall, tan, handsome dude?" Taeyong asks.

"Mingyu. They're in the same department." Wonwoo informs them. 

"He's cool. And really nice, too. It's kinda sad how he kept turning down Soonyoung's drunken attempts at flirting last night, though." Yuta says and Wonwoo lifts his head to look back at Yuta. 

"What?" Wonwoo lifts his mug and takes a generous sip as Yuta laughs before telling him what happened.

Apparently Mingyu came in pretty late, the party was in full blast and Wonwoo was already too drunk to remember. But the minute Mingyu showed up, Soonyoung pounces at him.

_ Literally _ .

Which was entertaining at first. He'd cling onto Mingyu the whole night and everyone who tries to flirt with the younger gets turned down.

By Soonyoung.

"Soonyoung's pretty intimidating if he wants to. I was there when one girl asks Mingyu what his name was and Soonyoung wraps an arm around Mingyu's waist and just glares at the girl until she left. I swear!" Yuta says and Wonwoo wishes he was sober enough to remember that himself. 

Yuta and Taeyong kept talking back and forth, sharing stories about the same night from their own perspective when Wonwoo hears a plate slide in front of him and feels an arm slide around his waist. He turns and sees Seungcheol at his side, laughing along to Yuta and Taeyong. 

"You okay?" Wonwoo nods at Seungcheol's question. It's nothing a good plate of greasy food and at least two cups of coffee can't fix.

"What time is it? And where are the others?" Wonwoo asks as Seungcheol takes the seat next to his. 

"Just about eight in the morning. And the others are back in the dorm. The only ones who spent the night here are us four and the two upstairs." Seungcheol explains. He takes a spoonful of what looks like fried rice and offers it up to Wonwoo's mouth. Wonwoo lets the elder feed him and smiles back when Seungcheol smiles up at him.

"Where's  _ our _ food?" Taeyong asks and Seungcheol turns to glare at Taeyong.

"Go get some yourselves." Seungcheol says before taking a spoonful himself. Wonwoo downs the rest of his coffee in one go and asks Seungcheol where to get more. But Seungcheol grabs the mug from his hand and kisses his cheek before standing up and going around the counter to make him a new cup. 

"Your blatant favoritism for Wonwoo is showing, Cheol." Yuta calls out and Seungcheol looks over Wonwoo and winks.

"Oh, was he hiding it?" Taeyong adds. Seunghceol then comes back next to Wonwoo with his own mug and sets them down beside the plate. Seungcheol continues on in feeding him and Wonwoo lets himself be babied for once and he's not even gonna take notice of Taeyong's knowing looks from the table. 

"I was  _ definitely _ never hiding it." Seungcheol says and he smiles sweetly at Wonwoo. Wonwoo can't help but laugh with food in his mouth as Seungcheol stares at him. Like actually stares at him with this sappy, dopey look on his face.

It's weird.

It's not that Wonwoo' doesn't like it, okay? Wonwoo likes it. He's damn well sure he fucking likes it, yeah.

But it's still weird.

"Why are you being so extra... well, extra  _ you _ , today?" And Seungcheol's hand moves over to Wonwoo's knee and Seungcheol just kept smiling at him. 

"It's nothing. I just really, really, like you." Seungheol leans in to kiss Wonwoo's cheek and Wonwoo smiles. You can't really blame him with Seungcheol basically spoon feeding him affection.

"It's something drunk Wonwoo said." Taeyong says from behind him. Wonwoo turns to look at him but his back was to him and he was shoving spoonfuls of food in his mouth, spoon after spoon. Yuta smiles at him and shrugs like he doesn't know. 

He's sure he knows.

He hates that he's sure that  _ everyone _ knows. Well, everyone but him.

Seungcheol lifts the spoon up to his mouth again and as much as Wonwoo wants to keep eating, he has to use the only thing he has against Seungcheol to get to the bottom of things. He clams his mouth shut and turns his face away.

"What?" Seungcheol asks and Wonwoo shakes his head.

"What happened?" Wonwoo asks and Seungcheol smiles when he understood what Wonwoo was doing. 

"I'm trying to help you keep your self worth here." Seungcheol says and Wonwoo worries even more. 

"Is it  _ that _ bad?" Wonwoo asks and Seungcheol's eyes go down to his shirt and back up to his eyes. 

Wait, scratch that, it goes down to his open, button-less shirt before going back up to Wonwoo's eyes. 

Oh.

_ Oh. _

_ Oh no _

Wonwoo's face must've shown his absolute terror because Seungcheol smiles at him and stirs his coffee.

" _ No _ ." Wonwoo says. He can't help but sound defeated and all three of them had the nerve to laugh. 

"It's not that bad." Seungcheol reassures him. Which was effective. 

"Yeah, I'm sure stripping on top of a table with your friends isn't that bad." Well, It  _ was _ effective.

"Yeah. And giving your room mate a lap dance while you're shirtless isn't that bad." Yuta adds onto Taeyong's comment and Wonwoo stares as Seungcheol's ears starts going red.

"It's  _ not _ that bad!" Seungcheol defends and Yuta laughs out loud.

"Yeah. I'm sure." Yuta adds, sarcastically. 

"Or," Taeyong starts, he pushes his chair back and unpockets his phone as he made his way towards Wonwoo, "you can tell us yourself if it really  _ wasn't _ that bad." Taeyong says. He holds up his phone in front of Wonwoo and lo and behold, it's a video of Wonwoo and Soonyoung on top of a table. Soonyoung's onesie was already half open as the video shows him pulling Wonwoo's shirt open, ripping the buttons off. Wonwoo suddenly felt himself grip his shirt close which only made Taeyong laugh.

"Nothing we all haven't seen before." Taeyong says and he swipes to the next video.

Wonwoo wants to figuratively die.

The video starts off with Seungcheol in the middle of the room, being pushed down on a chair in the middle of the room as Wonwoo walks up to him, his shirt still there but already unbuttoned. Everyone cheered as Wonwoo takes off his fake police hat and places it on top of Seungcheol's head. The elder just kept laughing along with everyone else and Wonwoo can even hear Taeyong giggling from behind the camera. What stops Taeyong from laughing in the video, though, is Wonwoo taking off his shirt as slowly as he can. Actually, the whole room sounds like they're holding their breath. Seungcheol in the video stares, or rather gawks at Wonwoo as Wonwoo grabs for Seungcheol's collar and kisses him hard. The video cuts off abruptly and Wonwoo heaves out a deep sigh as he presses his forehead on the counter again.

"Nothing happened, okay. That whole clip was all that happened. We pulled you off of each other as soon as you attacked Seungcheol and Johnny had to literally carry you over his shoulder to get you upstairs." Wonwoo can hear Yuta giggling from way over the table and Wonwoo groans.

"You were annoying the whole night after that, though. We couldn't get you to sleep." Wonwoo can hear the smile on Taeyong's voice as he continues on this wonderful story. Please note the sarcasm.

"And guess what finally got you to shut up?" Oh god no. 

"Guess. Come on. You're a  _ big boy, Nonu _ ." Taeyong teases and Wonwoo groans. Again.

"You were asking for  _ Cheollie _ for a whole five minutes and Johnny had to literally lock you up in the room before going down and getting Seungcheol." Teayong says and Yuta laughs out loud. 

"Oh, wait! Do the thing! The thing he kept saying!" Yuta says in between laughing and Taeyong laughs along.

" _ It's cold! You can't do this to me! I can't sleep alone! Where's Seungcheol! Where's my Cheollie?! _ " Taeyong says in an exaggerated high voice and Wonwoo was about to turn around and maybe like, punch Taeyong in the face, but he freezes when he hears the same exact voice right over his ears with a few giggling and laughing in the background.

_ "You can't lock me in here alone! Johnny! Johnny please! You can't do this to me! Don't leave me here alone! Please! Where's Seungcheol?! Come back! Johnny!" _ The way that Wonwoo sounded was so... embarrassingly pathetic it's making Wonwoo physically cringe. The banging on the door, his voice cracking at some point, his pleading. Wonwoo was about to ask Taeyong to shut it off to save the last bit of self respect he has on his body when he hears someone say Seungcheol's on his way up. 

_ "Dude, come on. Really? Knock that off." _ The Seungcheol on the recording says and he hears muffled words from somewhere in the video and then he hears the click of the door opening and the Wonwoo in the video stops. Then he hears Seungcheol's comforting  _ "hey" _ as he went in the room and Wonwoo dies when he hears his voice crack as he says  _ "Cheollie".  _

Thankfully the recording stops there and Taeyong and Yuta only laughed for the next couple of minutes as Seungcheol rubs Wonwoo's back as some sort of comfort. 

It's comforting, yeah. But it's not gonna punch drunk Wonwoo in the face, now, is it?

"It was kind of cute." Seungcheol says, softly, almost a whisper so that only Wonwoo could hear.

"But we have to talk when we get back." Oh. 

Wonwoo's not sure if that's particularly good or bad. But it's definitely  _ not _ what you want to hear after you've just heard yourself begging for your... well... significant other. 

  
  


Suffice it to say, Wonwoo's morning was not the best.

He and Seungcheol makes their way back to their dorm after Wonwoo had tracked down his glasses and his phone. His shoes and socks were under the bed and Seungcheol pulls them out right as they were on their way out. 

Wonwoo has a hunch that whatever Seungcheol's gonna say is gonna be bad. Not bad that they'll end up fighting kind of bad, but more like the  _ this-isn't-working-out _ kind of thing. 

Wonwoo can't help feeling paranoid.

Really.

Seungcheol keeps giving him these long stares where his face is all, like.... happy sad, or something. Wonwoo would ask him what's wrong and Seungcheol would just keep smiling and then would ask Wonwoo a quick  _ yes or no _ and then leaning in for a quick kiss after Wonwoo nods. He keeps their hands tangled as they walk towards their building and Seungcheol points out random, half costumes as they make their way back. One 'sexy' cat was holding onto her tail as she trudged on, a what seems like a mermaid, wearing sneakers and a windbreaker as she holds onto a blue wig in her hand and tries to untangle the knots with her other hand, a guy wearing a black shirt and a pair of black skinny jeans wearing fairy wings as the girl walking next to him was wearing a huge leather jacket over what looks like a fairy costume that does not go well with her black boots. Seungcheol points at all of them and then points at Wonwoo.

"A half police officer half stripper gripping his shirt close." Seungcheol teases. Wonwoo frowns, but before he could pull his hands away Seungcheol pulls him closer and wraps an arm around his waist as they walk. 

Isn't it just sad that the minute something awfully nice happens to Wonwoo, his body's natural response was  _ this cannot be right! _

"Okay. What's up?" Wonwoo asks immediately as he closes the door behind him. Seungcheol turns around and smiles at him before going back and wrapping him in a hug. 

"Hi." Seungcheol says, his huge, happy, gummy smile plastered on his face and Wonwoo smiles nervously.

"What?" Wonwoo asks. Seungcheol just kept smiling at him and Wonwoo's internal freak out was starting to eat him from the inside.

"Did I do something last night?" Wonwoo asks and Seungcheol laughs.

"You did  _ a lot _ last night." Seungcheol says and Wonwoo rolls his eyes.

"No like... why do you want to talk?" Wonwoo asks, carefully. Seungcheol's smile drops and his face turns into a pinched, confused one.

"It's... It's nothing bad, Won. Really. Relax." Seungcheol says and Wonwoo lets out a relieved sigh. Seungcheol chuckles and Wonwoo tries not to frown.

"I thought I did something so embarrassing that you're gonna like..." Wonwoo didn't finish. He didn't have to. The mix of surprise and disbelief on Seungcheol's face before he pulls Wonwoo's head to his shoulder in a hug was an obvious sign that Seungcheol got what he thought was happening.

"Oh my god. I'm not!  _ Wonwoo!" _ Seungcheol rubs Wonwoo's back as he presses one hand on the back of his neck.

"It's not like that, okay. It's just something you said last night. I already kind of figured, to be honest, but i feel like i should tell you about it." Seungcheol says. 

Seungcheol then pulls Wonwoo away and led them to his bed, Seungcheol lying back as Wonwoo curls on his side, his head on Seungcheol's shoulder while his left hand plays with Seungcheol's right hand on the elder's chest. They stay quiet for a few minutes and Wonwoo braces himself when he feels Seungcheol take a deep breathe.

"This is about last night. Last night, when they locked you in the room. After i came in you were crying. and it was sort of cute at first. I thought you were really just asking for me." Seungcheol chuckles a bit at that and Wonwoo slaps his chest lightly.

"But yeah. After a while passes by and you were still crying, I panicked. And when I asked you what's wrong you just..." Seungcheol's left hand on Wonwoo's shoulder pulls him closer and Wonwoo kind of remembers it now.

  
  


He remember suffocating. Not the usual kind of suffocating. He just feels constricted. He hears the door lock and the empty room starts caving in on him. He pulls it open, he shakes the door knob and cries for them to open the door. He calls for Seungcheol, he begs for someone. He can't be left out like this. Not again. 

Wonwoo felt like he was in his room again. He felt like he was ten years old again, in his room, begging for his dad to open the door. He remembers the day and everything suddenly tilted. He can't breathe properly and the room isn't budging and he hears his car start and leave. He kept screaming and screaming until the door opens.

But instead of his mom, it was Seungcheol coming in. He smiles at him and Wonwoo wraps his arms around him like how he did with his mom almost a decade ago. He cries and cries and he kept asking why did he leave. He kept asking why he wasn't enough.

Wonwoo realizes now that maybe his drunken mind had gotten the present confused with the past and decided to have a playback of how Wonwoo was back then. Wonwoo also realizes not that Seungcheol heard him say all that.

"You said... a lot. And you kept asking me... And then i just pulled you to bed and when i tried to get you at least a glass of water before you sleep you started... you started crying again. Asking me not to leave." Seungcheol's voice was low and quiet. Wonwoo presses his face closer to Seungcheol's neck so the elder won't see his face as easily.

"I... I'm sorry, I guess." Wonwoo says and Seungcheol quickly reassures him that he didn't have to apologize for anything. Wonwoo lets out a choked up laugh.

"No, like. I'm sorry for making a scene like that. I didn't mean to ruin your night. Especially not with  _ that _ ." Wownoo says.

He takes a deep breath.

Then another.

And another.

He takes in Seungcheol's scent to calm him down before he says any of this.

"Our dad left us when i was ten. I'm not sure why, and i'm never gonna pry about it to our mom because she's done nothing but support us throughout the years. But yeah." Wonwoo's already choking up and that's when Seungcheol scoots himself lower, he pulls his body down so his face was leveled with Wownoo's but Wonwoo's head was now on top of his left arm as he places his right hand over Wonwoo's left hand in between them. He squeezes it once and gave Wonwoo a tight smile before Wonwoo chokes back a sob and continues.

"He... That day, my mom was out buying groceries and Jungkook was with her because he had after school activities then, i think. I did, too. But it was cancelled that day and I took the bus home. When I got home, I saw my dad in their room, packing his stuff. And he-" Wonwoo's voice cracked and he closed his eyes immediately. He doesn't want to see how Seungcheol would look at him right now. But then he feels the elder let go of his hand and a second later he feels his thumb wiping away the tears on Wonwoo's face. He shushes Wonwoo and went back to holding his hand. Wonwoo tried to take a deep breath and swallows before continuing. 

"The moment he saw me, the first thing he said when he saw me was " _ You're not supposed to be here." _ " Wonwoo laughs bitterly at the memory, his dad's surprised face staring at him with his bags open on their bed.

"Then he just throws in his clothes and things inside his bags, zips them up and starts walking out. I kept asking him where he was going but all he kept saying was that he was leaving, and that he wasn't coming back. I don't remember when i started screaming but he kept telling me to keep quiet when we were at the door." Wonwoo's voice cracks again and Seungcheol just kept wiping tears away from Wonwoo's face.

"Then he drops his bags, picks me up in his arms and brought me to my room. He puts me down on my bed. He hugs me, tells me he loves me, then he apologized and left. When i tried to run after him, the door to my room was-" Wonwoo hates how he can't even tell this fucking story without breaking down. It's been a decade and he hates how much power he still has over Wownoo's life. He doesn't deserve that kind of hold on Wonwoo's life and as much as he tries, he can't shake him out of his life. 

Seungcheol pulls him in, his left hand around the back of Wonwoo's neck and his hand on Wonwoo's head while his right hand rubs Wonwoo's back soothingly.

So Wownoo cries.

Wonwoo's not sure why he's crying but he does. It feels, it's not that it  _ feels good _ , but it doesn't feel bad.

He feels light.

He feels relief.

Wonwoo kept crying.

He wraps his arms around Seungcheol's back, gripping as hard as he could, and he cries hard on the elder's chest, soaking his shirt as the elder comforts him. He hates that he's crying about him but now he can say that he doesn't hate him. He's come to terms about that for a while now.

You can't hate someone that's not in any way relevant in your life anymore.

Wonwoo doesn't deserve that.

Wonwoo cries.

He kept crying for a long time, or maybe it was just a short time, he's not sure. But he doesn't hold anything back. He feels sorry that Seungcheol's here and that he's crying to him about it.

But he's not gonna pretend that he isn't also glad that he's here and that he's crying to him about it.

Seungcheol was…

Wonwoo just sees it now but Suengcheol is a constant presence by his side. He has been since months ago. He had been a great friend to Wonwoo ever since and he's glad for that. He's thankful for him. 

And Seungcheol's words were exactly what Wonwoo needed. It's not the same temporary comfort that  _ "It's gonna be okay" _ would've given him. It's not the same as the empty promise that  _ "you'll be fine" _ would've given him. It's just three words. Just those three comforting words that Wonwoo hopes he'll keep hearing for a very very long time. 

  
  


"I'm right here."

  
  
  
  
  
  


Wonwoo wakes up warm.

PImpossibly warm for it to be November. He groans and rubs his face on whatever he was lying on and he feels arms wrap around him. 

  
  


He looks up and sees Seungcheol smiling at him. Seungcheol pulls him up, moving to lie his head on the pillow instead of Seungcheol's arm. Wonwoo notices that his police shirt was replaced by one of Seungcheol's large shirts and he turns to face Seungcheol.

"How long was I asleep?" Wonwoo asks. Seungcheol checks the time on his phone before smiling at Wonwoo.

"Almost an hour." Seungcheol says. He places his phone on the table behind Wonwoo and drapes his arm over Wonwoo's waist. Wonwoo closes his eyes and hums.

"You should take a bath if you're gonna sleep again, Nonu." Seungcheol says and Wonwoo groans.

"Come on. A quick shower and then back to sleep." Seungcheol offers and Wonwoo groans again. He feels Seungcheol's lips on his cheek and peeks an eye to see him smiling.

"Just a quick, five minute shower." Seungcheol says and Wonwoo groans again, but now he sits up. He feels Seungcheol get up from the bed and he waits with his eyes still closed. His throat feels really dry and his eyes sting a bit. They feel puffy. They're probably puffy from all the crying Wonwoo did. 

"Come on. I got the water running already. I'll get your clothes ready." Wonwoo stands up squints at Seungcheol when he passes him to the bathroom.

  
  


Five minutes later, after Wonwoo had properly washed himself, he finds himself back on Seungcheol's bed. But now With his back pressed to Seungcheol's chest and the elder's palms on the back of Wonwoo's hands with their fingers intertwined. Wonwoo still feels tired but he can't bring himself to sleep anymore. So he lets go of Seungcheol's hands and turns to face him. Seungcheol pulls him closer by his waist and Wonwoo eases his arms around Seungcheol's neck. 

They stare at each other for a while before Wonwoo leans in closer for a quick kiss. 

"Thank you." Wonwoo says. Seungcheol smiles at him.

"For what? Making you take a bath? Well, that was more for my sake, really." Seungcheol jokes and Wonwoo just smiles.

"For earlier." Wownoo says. Seungcheol's smile softens and now it was his turn to kiss Wonwoo.

"You don't need to thank me for that." Seungcheol says and Wonwoo just stares.

"You're the most wonderful, most insufferable, and definitely the most stupidly dense nerd I know and I'll always be here for you." Seungcheol says and Wonwoo's heart swells. 

Wonwoo moves his hand to Seungcheol's jaw, his thumb running over his cheek as Seungcheol smiles at him softly and Wonwoo feels like exploding right then and there. He moves in , closes his eyes, and kisses Seungcheol.

It wasn't a quick one. And it wasn't like all the one's they've shared before. Wonwoo's sure it's not like the ones before. He tries to recall every time his lips were against Seungcheol's, tries to recall each of them and compare each of them with this one.

But he can't.

He can't specifically pinpoint the difference. What's missing or what's there now that wasn't there before... He tries to see the difference in Seungcheol's touch from then and now. But he can't. All he can be sure of is that this one is different because it's... because there's nothing behind it.

Well, that's a bad way to say it, but... Wonwoo meant there's no heat in it. No intention behind it but them just pulling each other close. As close as they possibly can. Wonwoo feels like he's vibrating with everything he's feeling, with everything Seungcheol's made him feel and everything Seungcheol's making him feel. He moves his lips languidly with Seungcheol's and there's a different pacing to it. Wonwoo doesn't feel breathless at all, he doesn't feel the need to pull away and breathe. He can kiss Seungcheol like this for days and he wouldn't need to stop for a second. But they do stop. They last for a few minutes before Wonwoo pulls away.

Seungcheol's eyes flutter open slowly as Wonwoo moves back a couple of inches away from his face. Being this close to him, to anyone, really, you can't look at them and see their whole face. You can just look at them and try your best to see as much of them as you can. Wonwoo stares at the hair curling around Seungcheol's forehead. Then his eyes go to his lips, he stares for a few seconds and studies every curve, every line, every detail. Then his attention was brought up to the elder's eyebrows, knitted close to the middle, redirecting Wonwoo's attention down to the elder's eyes. Wonwoo stares, he's moves from staring at Seungcheol's left eye then to his right. Both were the softest deep brown Wonwoo has grown to love, the warm sort of brown that looks like they're ambers when the sunlight hits just right. 

"What?" Seungcheol asked.

"What?" Wonwoo throws back and Seungcheol breaks into a grin. 

"What are you doing?" Wonwoo stares again. 

He burns into memory the curve of Seungcheol's eyebrows and his lips. The slope of his nose and the shadow it casts over his cheek. He notes how his eyelashes actually cast a shadow over his eyes and notes, again, how his eyes are unreal.

He remembers each and every single thing, burns it in the back of his mind before closing his eyes and moving closer to the elder. He feels their noses touch as he makes himself comfortable in their position before smiling and saying "Nothing."

  
  


\------

Wonwoo was never one to brag. He hates people who flaunts stuff, like the people who struts down the their high school hallways like they own the building. He hates those kinds of people. 

And yet here he is now, sleeping in class. 

Wonwoo know's sleeping isn't exactly the most common way to brag, but it is in this class. It is in every design related class he has.

You see, sleeping inside their drafting class isn't actually something you can't do. You can, as long as you're already done with your plates. That's why whenever you see someone lounging around in a drafting class, or just casually walking around, talking to their friends, that's them bragging that they're done.

And Wonwoo is. 

He finished his plates two days ago, on monday evening. He used his time in the library to finish as much as he can and then finished the whole thing at around nine back in their room, just as Seungcheol comes in with their dinner. 

So now Wonwoo has his head on top of his arms on top of his table,half asleep as he messages Doyoung about his power bank that Doyoung held hostage, and messaging Chungha about how Soonyoung is when they were at the studio.

He was so into his argument with Doyoung about what it's actually called.

"It's a portable charger." 

"Why can't you just say powerbank like a regular person?" 

"Regular people call it PORTABLE CHARGERS! NOT! POWERBANK! YOU! LANKY! IDIOT!" 

that he belatedly realizes his classmates packing up. He sits right back up and rubs the sleep away from his eyes before checking his stuff. He then sees their professor walk down the room, smiling at him.

"Great job, mister Jeon." She says. Wonwoo had always liked her and how she teaches but now he's sure that she's an angel sent down by Athena herself to look after Wonwoo. Wonwoo bows and thanks her before standing up and exiting the room.

  
  
  


He takes his time on his way to the library, thinking about maybe passing by Seungcheol's class on the way but remembers Seungcheol telling him not to last monday. Maybe he should, just to see Seungcheol blushing again as he shoves him away, glancing back to his class and being all shy. 

But Wonwoo settles for messing with the elder by sending him a message.

** _Me:_ **

** _look outside :]_ **

Wonwoo sends and he smiles. Not even a minute later and Seungcheol's reply pops up in his phone.

** _Cheol_ **

** _I TOLD U NOT TO COME HERE but wer r u?_ **

Wonwoo laughs.

** _Me: _ **

** _heh_ **

** _made you look :P_ **

** _I'm in the library_ **

Wonwoo sends and he wonders if Seungcheol's more relieved or annoyed.

** _Cheol:_ **

** _ur so annoying_ **

** _ur lucky ur cute..._ **

Wonwoo laughs and went in the library.

He heads straight for room seventeen and was a bit surprised that it's still empty. He checks the time on his phone and sees it's already ten minutes past five which is weird. Hansol and Jihoon are usually already here by the time he gets here on Mondays, Wednesdays, and Fridays, that's why he asked Mingyu for another key card for the two so they don't have to wait for the three of them who has a key.

Well, two of them.

Right.

He takes a seat and shivers, cursing the vents for how cold it was inside and he hopes someone will come in soon so he won't freeze here alone. He sent Doyoung a couple of annoying emojis just to rile him up and shoots Chungha and Soonyoung a text, asking if they're coming in today in the library. He then hears the door open and freezes. This time it's not because of the cold, but because Minghao was now standing with the closed door behind his back as he smiles warily at Wonwoo.

"Hey." Wonwoo says. He's not sure what to say, to be honest, but he feels like that's a safe enough thing to start with. 

"Hi." Minghao says back. 

They stare at each other for a while before it all turns a bit uncomfortable.

"Do you-" "Wait. I have something to say and I'm sorry I'm making this ten times more awkward than it should be but like, I need you to not talk until I'm done. Okay?" Minghao cuts him off and Wonwoo smiles.

"Okay." 

"Okay, well. First of all, I want to apologize. Because i was an ass. And i was a dick to you. And you also probably didn't even know  _ why _ i was acting the way that I did. Towards you. I guess I shouldn't blame you for that either. And It was hard for me, yeah, but it was unfair to you so. I'm really sorry. And uh..." Minghao starts fidgeting with his hands and Wonwoo just stares.

"The thing is, I like you. Well,  _ liked _ you. I did. Before. Because you were nice, and really fun to hang out with and you always checked up on me. But then you said you were asexual and-" 

"I said  _ I thought _ I was. I was never really sure." Wonwoo adds and Minghao nods.

"Yeah. Of course, sorry. So, yeah. That's why i never really told you anything. Why I didn't want to, like, push myself onto you." Minghao explains.

"But then you and Seungcheol happened. And the thing is, we saw it happen. All of us. So I was kind of bummed, in a way... Like, maybe if i did approach you and tell you about my feelings for you first you'd end up with me instead, or something. And ranting all of this to Mingyu after our, you know... after that day. I realized that you didn't owe me that. You didn't owe me a chance to, like, throw in my towel or something. I'm not sure if I used that saying right but you get what i mean." Minghao was talking so fast now that Wonwoo only nods.

"Right.  _ That _ . Then Soonyoung caught me one day and like, cornered me when i was on my way to my class and he kind of lowkey threatened me to like, apologize to you. Which wasn't necessary, really. I just wanted to make sure before I talk to you."

"Make sure?"

"Make sure that i'm over you. I know it's a shitty thing to do, I did just kind of just ghosted on you and the worst part is that I could  _ see you _ looking miserable for almost a month and I kept telling myself it's better for the both of us if I didn't, like, approach you..." Minghao says and Wonwoo nods. AgaIn. He feels like nodding is a great way to continue the conversation when he doesn't know what to say so he keeps doing it.

"But yeah. I was a really shitty friend and I'm sorry I wasn't there for you for a while." Minghao says and Wonwoo doesn't know what to say. He wants to say it's okay. Or maybe something along the lines of it wasn't okay but it is now.... Something, anything. 

But instead Wonwoo just stands up and went in for a hug.

Which surprised them both, really.

Wonwoo wrapping his arms around Minghao's back and pulling him close for a few seconds before pulling away. Mignhao was full on blushing now and Wonwoo can't help but smile.

"I can't believe you have a crush on me. That's really embarrassing." Wonwoo jokes and Mignhao rolls his eyes and shoves Wonwoo away.

"I literally just said I'm over you so shut up." Mighao teases and Wonwoo laughs. 

"Have you been doing okay?" Wonwoo asks and Minghao smiles a shy smile before nodding his head.

"Mingyu kept me company. Well, when he has enough time left for me, that is." Minghao says and Wonwoo pulls him to the table.

"Mingyu's never busy, though? If he is, he's just somewhere around here." Wonwoo asks and Mighao snorts.

"Soonyoung's kept him busy enough." Minghao says and Wonwoo shoots him a confused look. Mignhao looks at him for a few seconds and realized it the same time Wonwoo did.

"He hasn't told you he and Mingyu are dating, has he?" Mignhao asks and Wonwoo shakes his head no.

"Shit. Don't tell them. I didn't think they'd keep it from you i mean. They're always together here." Mignhao says and Wonwoo hatches a plan already. 

"Don't worry about it." Wonwoo says. But from the looks of Minghao's face, it seems like those words just made him worry even more.

  
  
  


Fast forward to a week after that and Mingyu's name is flashing on his phone as Wonwoo finishes up a paper due the next morning. He everyone should be dead from all the reviews they have to do since it's already their midterm exams but He has a feeling this isn't about exams. He answers the call and puts it on speaker and he can't help but smile as he greets Mingyu.

_ "Seriously Jeon?" _ Mingyu sasy and Wonwoo has to try and not laugh.

"What? I'm in the middle of school work here, Kim." Wonwoo says and he hears Mingyu sigh

_ "Stop messing with Soonyoung, please. He's crying on me, right now. Like, literally crying on my chest." _ Mignyu says and Wonwoo smiles wider.

"Wouldn't blame him. They're perfect shape for that. I bet they're  _ real _ comfy." Wonwoo jokes and Mingyu groans.

_ "Real mature, Jeon." _ Mingyu says and Wonwoo laughs.

"I was just messing with him. I'm happy for you two." Wonwoo says and Mingyu groans.

_ "Well, you better tell him that soon because he just asked me if I'd hate him if he called things off because You don't approve of me." _ Mingyu says and Wonwoo didn't know whether to laugh or be worried.

"He  _ what?!" _ Wonwoo exclaimed and he hears Mingyu sigh again.

_ "You're evil, you know that?" _ Mingyu says and Wonwoo rolls his eyes. 

"Just give him the phone, bean pole." Wonwoo says and a second later e hears sniffing from the end of the line. 

"Soonyoung. Were you actually thinking of breaking it off with Mingyu just because I acted like that?" Wonwoo asks and he hears more sniffing and then one deep breath before Soonyoung croaks out a quiet yes. Wonwoo sighs.

"Soon. I'm glad you have Mingyu, okay? Honestly. I was just messing with you because you usually don't shut up about him and then I have to hear from someone else that you two are dating?" Wonwoo says and he hears more sniffling from the other side of the line.

_ "I really like him Won.." _ Soonyoung says, his voice still rough from the crying that's making Wonwoo feel guilty all of a sudden, and Wonwoo smiles.

"Does he like you back? Just as much as you like him?" Wonwoo asks and he hears Soonyoung sigh.

_ "I think so, yeah." _ Soonyoung says and Wonwoo smiles.

"Good. If he so much as thinks about making you cry i will cut off his balls with a cutter and fillet his dick and feed it to him. Make sure he knows that, okay?'"

_ "Okay." _ He can practically hear Soonyoung's smile from his voice.

"Okay, well. See you tomorrow at class. And use protection if you're staying the night at Gyu's dorm. I'm not ready to be an uncle." wonwoo says and he says goodbye before Soonyoung could even say that it's not like that. 

He turns back to his paper and he was half way through rereading it when Seugncheol comes in their dorm, drops his bag on his bed, takes off his shirt and shoes, and then crawls up to Wonwoo's bed. Lying down on top ofor his legs and pressing his face on Wonwoo's stomach. Wonwoo's back aches from his position, almost an hour of him lying back with his laptop on his chest, so he lifts it off his chest and sets it aside as he lets his eyes adjust to the dark.

"Exam's going okay?" Wonwoo asks. running a hand over the elders hair and Seungcheol answers with a grunt. 

"Have you had dinner yet?" Wonwoo asks and Seungcheol just grunts again. 

"I don't speak caveman, Cheol." Wonwoo says and Seungcheol groans. He then lifts Wonwoo's shirt and pulls it over his head, resting his head on Wonwoo's skin. Wonwoo gasps at the feeling of Seungcheol's cold earrings on his skin. 

"Why are you wearing earrings? It's fucking cold." Wonwoo says as he pats the elder's head through his shirt. Seungcheol answers by turning his head and pressing a kiss on Wonwoo's skin. Wonwoo feels Seungcheol's hands on his hips as the elder presses his lips on his skin repeatedly. Wonwoo has half a mind to stop the elder but he can't help but let the other half, the touch starved half, take over him and just let himself enjoy this. 

Seungcheol's hands move from his hips and drags his shirt up. Wonwoo cards hsi fingers through The elder's hair and watches as Seungcheol stares at him through his lashes, still leaving open mouthed kisses on his skin, making him shiver from the cold. Seungcheol then places one last kiss on his skin, right in the middle of his chest, before hovering over Wonwoo and taking his lips in his. The kiss was different.

Every kiss with Seungcheol is different. Wonwoo notes that Seungcheol's kisses ranges from soft, light hearted one to ones that Wonwoo has to call as hungry.

This one was like a good middle of that range. 

Seungcheol's arms are on his sides and his lips were soft but languid on his. Wonwoo kisses back as much as he could, but the elder's cold hands on his skin makes him shiver and gasp every time he so much as rubs his thumb on Wonwoo's skin. Wonwoo takes a deep breath when Seungcheol leaves his lips and opts to kissing down his throat. 

"No biting." Wonwoo says just as Seungcheol nips at the skin on his neck. Wonwoo groans and Seungcheol eases up and hovers his face over Wonwoo's.

"Hi." Seungcheol says and Wonwoo rolls his eyes.

"Most people start with that, you know, before assaulting other people with kisses." Wonwoo says and Seungcheol leans in for a kiss. 

"Sure." Seungcheol says against his lips and Wonwoo smiles.

"Is it weird to say i missed you? I mean, I know we see each other everyday but like, this is the first conversation we had in the past week that isn't just three words each." Seungcheol says and Wonwoo quirked up an eyebrow.

"And this conversation consisting of three words each and lost of kisses is better?" Wonwoo teases and Seungcheol rolls his eyes before flopping down on top of Wonwoo. 

Seungcheol's weight on him felt, well obviously it felt heavy but it's not just heavy, it felt comforting. Seungcheol turns his head to face Wonwoo and Wonwoo turns to face him too. 

"So, dinner?" Wonwoo asks and Seungcheol just stares.

"Mr. Jung's?" Wonwoo smiles and nods.

"We should get lots of coffee, too. I think I have to study till morning tonight." Wonwoo says and Seungcheol frowns at him. 

"My exam for tomorrow is in the afternoon." Wonwoo explains and Seungcheol's brows eases a bit.

"You need rest. I'm sure that brain of yours can pass without having to review all night." Seungcheol says and Wonwoo can't help but smile. It feels nice to have someone to worry about you.

"That's my last midterm, though. So, if it's  _ alright _ with you, I'll stay up all night tonight and then I'll sleep tomorrow afternoon and then sleep through friday as well." Wonwoo jokes and Seungcheol frowns.

"I'm serious!" Seungncheol says and Wonwoo laughs.

"I am, too! I promise. You can lock me up here afterwards if you want. Tie me to the bed if you have to." Wonwoo says and Seungcheol presses a quick kiss on his lips.

"Kinky." Seungcheol says and Wonwoo rolls his eyes.

"Let me just finish up on this paper. Go change or take a bath or something."

"What? Do i need a bath? Do I smell like kitchen?" Seungcheol aks and Wonwoo presses his nose on Seungcheol's shoulder and takes an exaggerated whiff.

"Yes. But in a good way. You smell like spices. Kinda like pesto." Wonwoo says and Seungcheol snorts.

"Do i?" Seungcheol asks and Wonwoo places his hand on Seungcheol's neck and pulled him closer. Wonwoo hums as he kisses Seungcheol's neck and he hears Seungcheol's breath hitch when he kisses him and lets his tongue flick at his skin.

"You don't taste like pesto, though." Wonwoo says and Seungcheol slaps his chest lightly and groans as he stands up. 

"I'm taking a shower, a very cold,  _ cold _ shower, and you better be done with that after I finish."

"Okay, babe. Take your time. And don't use spit, babe. That's gonna get your dick chaffed." Wonwoo teases and Seungcheol turns around, red in the face, and throws a sock at Wonwoo's face.

"Feel free to think of me!" Wonwoo yells as Seungcheol stomps to the bathroom and Wonwoo laughs when they hear Doyoung on the other room screaming at them to shut up. 

  
  


Wonwoo finished up his paper, asked Minghao for the outline of the email they have to send the paper with, and sent it just as Seungcheol comes out of the bathroom. He was wearing black pants and a fit white shirt, that reminded Wonwoo of Captain America, as he dries his hair with his towel. Wonwoo stares until Seungcheol puts on a jacket and Wonwoo slips in his sneakers and throws on a jacket over his hoodie and purposely leaves his gloves so he can complain about the cold half way there and Seungcheol would hold his hand in his. Wonwoo puts on a beanie as well and double checks his phone, keys, and wallet before going out after Seungcheol and locking their room. 

They walk inside Mr. Jung's, their fingers intertwined as per Wonwoo's plans, and were greeted happily by Mr. Jung. They walk up to him, they ask him how he's been, he asks them how their exams are going, they order a ton of food, and they wait and chat until a new customer comes up to the counter. Wonwoo looks around and rubs his hands together to warm his hands up. Seungcheol and Mr. Jung were talking about cooking and spices and Wonwoo tones them out in favor of scanning the display case. He stares at the pastries and cakes and smiles to himself. Throughout all these months he's managed to have ordered each and everyone of these, all the cakes and all the scones and cookies and bread. His favorite was still the chocolate cheese muffin, of course, and the strawberry and white chocolate scone. 

"We already have tons of food." Seungcheol's voice says over his shoulder and Wonwoo smiles.

"Oh, that was ours? Like, for both of us to share? I thought that was all yours?" Wonwoo jokes and Seungcheol tells him their drinks are ready and asks him to pick a table as Seungcheol gets them. Wonwoo chooses the table by the door. The same table he had sat on alone after Chungha's party. He smiles as Seungcheol balances the tray over and Wonwoo grabs for his mug before Seungcheol had even put the tray down. Wonwoo takes a sip and sighed contently. 

"You haven't changed drinks for the past three times we ate here, now. Is that a favorite?" Seungcheol asks and Wonwoo looks up at him.

"I know you're going through the menu, Wonwoo. You order different things every single time. Except for that. Lavender mocha every time for three times now." Seungcheol smiles as he takes a seat and Wonwoo nods.

"It tastes amazing. Like, the lavender has a really deep flavor to it. I don't know how to explain it but, yeah. It's like tea and coffee together." Seungcheol's eyes widened at that and he pulls out his phone to type something.

"What?" Wonwoo asks and Seungcheol pockets his phone and shakes his head with a smile.

"Nothing, just, something hit me and i gotta write it down before it leaves me." Seungcheol says, and before Wownoo could ask what it was, Jaehyun comes with their food. 

"Lasagna with extra cheese and a side of carrot fries for the dashing young man. The garlic bread is a gift from the chef." Jaehyun says with a wink and Wonwoo laughs as Seungcheol groans.

"And chicken pesto for this guy." Jaehyun says as he places Seungcheol's food in front of him.

"Don't i get garlic bread?" Seungcheol asks and Jaehyun looks at him with a convincing irritated look.

"Do you think those grow on trees? Asking for free food is really not polite, Choi Seungcheol. Shame on you for taking advantage of a small, family run business. Shame on you." Jaehyun says with his voice a bit louder than it should and Seungcheol turns red almost instantly. Wonwoo tries to keep in his laughter but Jaehyun gives him regular fries instead. 

"You're way too easy, man." Jaehyun says and he smiles.

"Shouldn't you be going now? Who's manning the kitchen?" Seungcheol asks and Jaehyun shrugs.

"Gramps finally hired two other people, thank God. We didn't use to have as much people before so i can manage the kitchen alone but recently we've been getting more and more people from your campus from lunch till dinner. It's wild." Jaehyun says and Wonwop gave Seungcheol a knowing look and Seungcheol smiles at him.

"That's good to hear." Seungcheol says and Jeahyun moves back to the kitchen with a smile.

Wonwoo was about to dig in when he stops and stares.

Seungcheol, for the first time since they met, took out his phone and started taking pictures of their meals. Wonwoo's seen Soonyoung do this every time they go to a new place, God knows what he does with those pictures since he has no social media presence at all, but seeing Seungcheol do it, right in front of him. It's like, seeing a baby walk for the first time. 

Wownoo was too shocked by everything that he snaps out of staring when Seungcheol points the camera on his phone towards him. Wonwoo raises an arm and turns away,

"Take pictures of the food. I don't deserve this." Wonwoo says and Seungcheol laughs.

"I am!" Seungcheol deffends and he locks his phone and pocket's it again. Wonwoo gave him a pointed look and shrugs.

"Oh, that. That's for dessert." He says with a wink and Wonwoo was glad he held himself from shoving the whole garlic bread inside Seungcheol's perverted mouth

They update each other on themselves and on the rest of their friends, Johnny and Ten they both see almost everyday, Soonyoung's been awfully studious and Wonwoo's glad to see him have that dancing thing with Chungha as some sort of stress reliever, Jihoon has been cooped up in some corner of the uni's broadcasting building and Hansol comes by some times with him in tow so  _ Jihoon can breathe air that isn't filtered through an A.C., _ and Doyoung is a great study buddy since they both don't talk unless they want to eat or leave. Seungcheol talks about how Jun had been tailing Taeyong and Yuta for a while now, Wonwoo was a bit surprised to find out that he and Kun had a thing going on, and Kun tags along with Johnny and Ten most times. Seungcheol then starts telling him about Yuta and Johnny's plan for christmas in Yuta's house near campus.

"About that." Wonwoo interrupts Seungcheol and the elder looks up at him and takes a sip of his drink.

"I kind of want to invite you home. Like, back to my home." Wonwoo says, staring at Seungcheol's eyebrows so it won't look like he's trying hard not to faint from embarrassment. 

"Oh." Seungcheol says. Wonwoo takes a bite of his food. He tries his best to think about how to chew and breathe at the same time and he almost chokes when he hears Seungcheol say his name.

"I'm really... I appreciate the offer, Won. Really." Oh. Right. Sure.

"Yeah, no. I was just wondering, you know. If you wanted to. It's cool." Wonwoo chances a glance at Seungcheol as he takes a sip of his coffee and he sees Seungcheol smile.

"The fact that you said  _ it's cool _ means that it isn't." Seungcheol says with this sweet smile on his face and Wonwoo gulps.

"I would love to go with you. You know I would. But the guys have been planning this since last year's christmas break. That's kind of why Yuta even rented the house." Seungcheol explains and Wonwoo nods solemnly.

"It's okay." Wonwoo says and Seungcheol rubs his thumb on the back of Wonwoo's hand. Wonwoo stares down at his food and thinks about how long christmas break is gonna be.

"Come on, don't use that face against me." Seugncheol says and Wonwoo directs his eyes onto the elder's.

"I'm not doing a face." Wownoo says and Seungcheol rolls his eyes playfully.

"You are. Maybe not consciously, but you still are."

"What, you want me to change my face?"

"Definitely not." Seungcheol says with a brighter smile and Wonwoo rolls his eyes. He has half a mind to suggest Seungcheol to change his face because he feels like that's an unfair advantage against him.

"Who else are staying then?" 

"So there's Yuta and Johnny. Taeyong's still not sure. Kun and Jun, but they agreed before this whole argument thing happened so I'm putting them as a maybe. And Ten still hasn't heard from his dad so he's a maybe, too.

Soon and Doyoung gave me a no the moment i asked. Jihoon hasn't given me an answer and Hansol won't give me an answer until Jihoon gives his, so there's that." Wonwoo nods and stares at Seungcheol.

"Where's my invite?" 

"What?" 

"Seems like you guys invited everyone but me. I'm feeling a bit neglected, to be honest." Wonwoo teases and Seungcheol levels him with a look.

"You want to? Like, stay here for the break?" Wonwoo stares at Seungcheol's face and he's not sure how to take Suengcheol's mildly surprised and very amused expression.

"I might. I don't know. No one's given me any reason to stay for the break, though." Wonwoo says with a blank look and Seungcheol levels it with a smirk.

"Babe, I mean this in the nicest way, but I'd rather you won't spend your break here." Wonwoo couldn't help the surprised and slightly hurt expression cross his face and Seungcheol caught on and started panicking.

"No no no no no! I mean, like... I want you to spend your break at home. With your mom, and Jungkook. And Seokmin and Jeonghan." Wonwoo nods.

"But can i, though? Like, stay?" 

"What do you mean  _ can you stay _ ?"

"Like, if I wanted to, can I stay? With you guys?" 

"Of course. There's gonna be a lot of us, though, and there's only, like, three rooms there so tell me in advance if you're staying."

"Why?"

"Well, one room for Yuta, One for Johnny and Ten if Ten stays, and the other one is mine. Or Ours. Jun and Kun can share the pull out couch." Seungcheol explains and Wonwoo laughs.

"Nothing brings people together more than sharing a bed." Wonwoo says and then it hits him.

"Wait, if they're arguing how are they back in their room?" Wownoo asks and Seungcheol shrugs.

"Fine, from what I've heard. They're both just coexisting silently. That's a quote from Ten." Seungcheol explains and Wonwoo went back to eating.

"I hope they fix it soon. I mean, they're already doing better than  _ someone _ I know. Can you imagine how Jun would feel if Kun just suddenly stops coming back to their dorm without a word? That'd be a  _ nightmare _ ." Wonwoo says and He tries not to smile when he sees Seungcheol's frown.

"Really?" Seungcheol says and Wonwoo smiles.

"What?" Wonwoo asks and Seungcheol groans. Wonwoo smiles, he cuts a bite of lasagna on his plate and lifts it up to Seungcheol's lips and smiles when the elder takes it in his mouth. They smile at each other from across the table and Wonwoo takes a moment to just breathe.

He needed this. A time out. a pocket of time outside college where it's just Seungcheol and food and him. So he just nods and stares as Seungcheol talks about their plan for some thanksgiving thing and he soaks up every moment of this pocket in time and he lets every paper and deadlines melt away for now. Right now it's just him, food, and Seungcheol. 

True to his words, Wonwoo finished his exams the next day and slept through the day. Seungcheol was just a bit worried when he ended up waking up the night the day after.

  
  
  
  


After their exam week, half of them were figuratively dead and the other half could not be more annoying. Doyoung, Ten, and, surprising, Johnny, were all awfully quiet that weekend and Wonwoo's glad Seungcheol was just as tired so they just spent the weekend in their room, alternating between eating, sleeping, and a little bit of making out. 

Well, a lot of making out.

But in Wonwoo's defense, Seungcheol says it's like, scientifically proven that kissing relieves stress so... 

They did it for science.

The following monday, Wonwoo had decided to sleep in since most of his classes are just free period and just meet up with Seungcheol by lunch but Soonyoung decided that he's not gonna waste a day. So here he is, sitting on a studio floor with his back against a floor to ceiling mirror wall as Soonyoung, Chungha, Ten, and Jun, has their eyes trained on the mirror and they move so surprisingly in sync that Wonwoo can't help but be amazed. There was about ten more people with them and all of them were good, like really really good, but Wonwoo can't help but stare at Soonyoung. He was completely different. It was really fucking up Wonwoo's mind. The way he moves was different from his usual bouncy attitude, his sleeveless shirt emphasizing how different he seems, and his eyes. His fucking eyes. 

The music stops and Wonwoo watches them high five each other and he sees one girl go up to Soonyoung and gave him two hi fives with a really bright smile. Wonwoo's not usually one to label people based on their first impression on him but he can't help but not like the girl. She was really pretty and really fair skinned. And she's not as tall as the other girls in the group but she's really good at her expressions. Wonwoo knows almost nothing about dancing but from what he's seen, the facial expression is almost half of it. 

"Hey." Chungha walks up to him and Wonwoo hands her her towel.

"How long did you say you guys worked on this?" Wonwoo asked and Chungh smiles. She had her blonde hair pulled back in a ponytail and she had on what looks like the lower half of a tracksuit and those sports-bra-tube thingy that Wonwoo has no idea what to call. 

"We started this saturday. Turns out that finishing exams is a great motivator for starting a set." Chungha says as sits down on his left and Jun lies down on his right and ten sits in front of him. 

"Hey, who's that?" Wonwoo asks, motioning at Soonyoung and the girl, who is currently laughing at something Soonyoung said.

"Easy with the dagger eyes." Ten says and Wonwoo rolls his eyes.

"She's harmless, dummy. Wait until Soonyoung introduces her to you." Chungha says and Wonwoo nods. And as if on cue, Soonyoung pulls the girl by her wrist and she smiles at Wonwoo as they got closer.

"Won! This is Eunbi. She's my sister." Soonyoung says and Wonwoo's eyes widened.

"We're not actually related. My name's Kwon Eunbi, so, Soonyoung kind of just claimed me as his sister, i guess?" She says and Wonwoo just stares at Soonyoung.

"Really?" 

"Look, maybe we're related! She's a good dancer, i'm a good dancer. We're both cute. We both have fair skin-" 

"If that's your basis then you can be related to everyone of them in this room." 

"Yeah but she's a Kwon!" Soonyoung says and Wonwoo turns to look at the rest and they all have 'just give up' smile.

"You're insufferable. You sure you want to be related to this?" Wonwoo asks Eunbi and she laughs as Soonyoung frowns.

"I didn't have a choice." She says, playing along, and Soonyoung sighs.

"Betrayal." Soonyoung says as he grabs for his bag and everyone laughs.

Everyone started packing up, saying goodbye to the others who were leaving, and Wonwoo stands up and waited for the rest. Wonwoo notices Chungha giving Seungyeon a hug as he says goodbye and he's definitely gonna ask about that later. They were all set when Eunbi walked back to them and started saying goodbye.

"Hey, wanna join us for lunch?" Jun asks Eunbi and Chungha shoulders her bag and runs up to her.

"Oh my gosh,  _ yes! _ Please please please please. It'd be nice to hang out with a girl with this guys." Chungha says and Eunbi laughs. 

"Sure, if it's okay with you guys." Eunbi says as she picks up her bag and everyone just smiles and gave her an okay. 

"Well, I'd love to join, but I have to go." 

"Oh, come on." Jun says, pulling Wonwoo by his arm and Chungha just pulls Jun away from him.

"Let him be, he needs to go back to his husband. Come on, you have a lot to talk about to auntie Chungha, from what I've heard." Chungha says, grabbing Jun with his elbow and holding Eunbi's hand. Ten pats his back as he follows them and Soonyoung wraps his arms around his shoulder and gave him an obnoxious kiss on his cheek. Wonwoo pushes him away by his face and Soonyoung laughs as he says goodbye. 

The studio was on the other side of the campus from their dorms and he was halfway there when his phone rings. He sees Jihoon's name on his phone and laughs as he takes the call.

"Hey. I'm surprised you're with Jihoon. I figured he'd still be sleeping."

_ "He is." _ Hansol says.

_ "Well, half asleep, anyways. But yeah, Cheol says to meet us in the cafeteria. He just left and my phone's in my bag so..." _

"Oh, Okay. I'm right by there. Are you gonna be able to handle waking him up?" 

_ "Yeah, yeah. We'll be there in fifteen." _ Hansol says and he ends the call with a goodbye. 

Wonwoo pockets his phone and sighs.

He can't believe he's like this now.

If you told him by the start of this sem that he's actually gonna be disappointed that he's not gonna spend lunch time alone with Suengcheol, he'd laugh.

And yet here he is now. 

Don't get him wrong, he loves his friends.

All of them.

He barely talks with Kun and Yuta but he's not gonna lie and say he doesn't consider them his friends too. But Wonwoo has this constant and annoying feeling of wanting to spend time with Seungcheol more. 

Time where it's just them. Just the two of them. 

But he doesn't voice this out. And he never will. Instead, he just enjoys the time he has with his friends as much as he can. 

  
  
  
  


**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I don't really write angsty stuff and deep backgrounds like these but I wanted this fic to be a bit more personal. 
> 
> Last update will be up before September ends
> 
> Hopefully... (*´∇｀*)


	3. Finals

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The final stretch for the first semester and Wonwoo, for the first time ever, feels like he can do it. 
> 
> Whatever 'it' is.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I AM SO SO SORRY IT TOOK ME SO LONG TO UPDATE THIS
> 
> (half of me really just did not want this to end and the other half just wants to share the whole thing) 
> 
> But here it is. 
> 
> I hope no one has left this fic yet (๑•́ ₃ •̀๑)
> 
> No more angst in this one. I swear.

Wonwoo got exactly what he wanted. 

Time alone with Seungcheol.

The elder had asked him to cleared his thursday night from after the library hours till friday morning and Wonwoo laughs at how Seungcheol is making it seem like he actually makes plans. Then Seungcheol lists off "no grocery dates with Hansol, no slumber party with Chungha, no weird adventures with Soonyoung (he went out with Soonyoung to go to a supposed rave one time) (Soonyoung got the address mixed up and they ended up staying at a cool coffee shop as they wait for the bus back to campus), no dinner with Taeyong or anyone, and no over time in the library". 

So that's how he got here.

Wonwoo was waiting for Seungcheol on the elder's bed since the elder promised dinner that's just for two and Seungcheol comes in through their door. Wonwoo was in the middle of sending a bunch of weird photos on the group chat he made with Chungha and Soonyoung and he looks up and smiles at the sight. Seungcheol had a paper bag on each hand and his backpack slung over just one shoulder. He smiles at him and Wonwoo locks his phone. 

"So I made a bunch of stuff and I want you to tell me which ones you like the most." Seungcheol says. He drags his table in between their beds, like always, and started unpacking the bags. Wonwoo crawls towards the edge of the bed and just stares at one container at a time. 

"So pasta, cake, and a dish. Two each with three dishes. Tell me which one you like better." 

"You want me to taste them and tell you which is better?"

"Yeah."

"So, technically, I'm like, your lab rat now?" Wonwoo teases and Seungcheol snorts.

"I don't think people are allowed to kiss lab rats. So that's a no." Seungcheol says as he folds the paper bags and Wonwoo gave him a glare.

"Well, I'm not complaining." Wonwoo says and he scoots to the side as Seungcheol crawls on his bed and sits next to Wonwoo. 

"So, I'm not telling what it is but i'm gonna tell you what they're supposed to be. Like, the concept of the dish and you tell me which one fits better." 

"I'm not exactly qualified for this, you know. My experience in fine dining food started with you." Wonwoo says and Seungcheol looks at him with this weird kind of wide eyed look that makes Wonwoo feel uneasy. Weungcheol smiles and rolls his eyes.

"I know. I'm asking for your take on the dish. Like, from a normal person's perspective."

"Oh, so I'm a  _ commoner _ now. Wow. You're really not holding back on the compliments tonight, huh, babe?"

"Not like that!" Seungcheol leans on his shoulder and Wonwoo laughs.

"Okay, so. For the pasta we wanted to do something that feels home-y? Like, fine dining that takes you back home." Wonwoo nods and something pops in his mind.

"So like, that rat movie?" Wonwoo asks. Seungcheol stares at him for a whole five seconds before sighing.

"Exactly like that movie, I guess." Seungcheol says in a defeated voice and Wonwoo laughs.

"You wanted a commoner's perspective so i'm giving it to you." Wonwoo says and Seungcheol pinches his ear.

"Whatever. For the dish, we wanted to do, like, foreign food but cooked in a korean way."

"That sounds great. No fish?"

"Of course no fish. I don't want my only lab rat to die." Seungcheol says and Wonwoo playfully slaps his face.

"It's all chicken, beef, and pork. I'll explain everything later. For the cake, well, this one is actually your idea." Seungcheol says. Wonwoo turns to look at him and Seungcheol smiles.

"One is coffee cake with a lavender tea frosting, and the other has tea infused sponge cake and coffee frosting." Wonwoo stares at the slices of cake in front of him and then stares back at Seungcheol.

"How is that my idea?" 

"Remember a week ago? When you called your drink like, a mix of coffee and tea? Yeah. I don't know. I just kind of liked the idea." Seungcheol says and Wonwoo stares at the table.

Wonwoo can hear Seungcheol talking right beside him but he can't focus enough to actually hear him. Here he is, saying he  _ made _ something from what Wonwoo offhandedly said a week back and he expects Wonwoo to just, like, accept that. Wonwoo feels his mind going numb from feeling too much and he only comes to his senses when Seungcheol pushes a paper plate in front of him.

"So, pasta number one. Has more spices than the other one and we used chicken on this one and beef on the other. Both have tomato based sauce but this one doesn't have much cheese." Wonwoo stares at the color and it's obvious that number two has more cheese.

"And you're not listening. Sure. Please don't choose based on just cheese." Seungcheol says and Wonwoo laughs.

"I won't! Give me more credit than that." 

"Wonwoo, you'd choose cheese fries over steak." Seungcheol says as he hands him a fork.

"That depends entirely on the cheese on the fries." Wonwoo says, pointing the fork at Seungcheol. 

"Can we focus here!"

"You're the one who brought up cheese fries! Now i want cheese fries."

Wonwoo swirls his fork and takes a bite. The sauce is really really good. The sauce just drowns Wonwoo's tongue with this really savory and creamy sauce. It's like a very typical spaghetti taste when you use real ingredients instead of the packed sauces. And when he swallows it's like the spices jumps out of nowhere and Wonwoo sighs after swallowing. 

"Oh wow." Wonwoo takes a sip of water and Seungcheol tries it too.

"Too much spice?"

"There's like, a minty flavor that sticks to my throat."

"That would be the tarragon, I think. It's a french herb. Too much of that?"

"Too much of that." Wonwoo confirms and Seungcheol nods. 

"But I like it. I love how it's not as sweet." Wonwoo says and Seungcheol turns to his bag and starts taking notes.

"And?" 

"Uh... The pasta was good? Cooked well." Wonwoo adds and Seungcheol smiles at him.

"Don't be awkward about it! Just tell me what you think!" Seungcheol says in between laughs and Wonwoo laughs along.

"Well... uh. It made me think of like, spaghetti made from scratch. Like, not those packed sauces and stuff. Like, actual tomatoes and stuff like that. We made it once, years back, when my birthday fell on a weekend and it's really nice." Seungcheol started writing stuff down and Wonwoo smiles as his eyebrows knit together.

"Okay. Try the other one." Seungcheol says without looking up and Wonwoo places a huge portion on his plate. He takes one bite and promptly moans.

"Oh my god." Wonwoo blurts out as he chews. The sauce was definitely creamier and the beef adds a different flavor to the sauce. And the cheese was just a really great addition to it.

"This one. I like it." Wonwoo says after he swallows and he was already swirling his fork in for another bite.

"This one should be a bit more mild compared to the first one because we added more cheese and less spices." Seungcheol explains and Wonwoo just nods as he takes one bite after the other.

"Please stop making out with the food."

"I would marry this if i could." Wonwoo says. Smiling when Seungcheol laughs out loud. He twirls his fork one more time and lifts it up to Seungcheol. He takes it in his mouth and smiles.

"What's the judgement on this one?" Seungcheol says with his mouth full and Wonwoo licks his fork clean.

"Well, I love it. Obviously. But I think if the first one had more cheese, you wouldn't have to, like, lessen the spice. Like, It's like a great cushion? Like, that mixes the spices and the sauce well, you know." Seungcheol stops writing and stares up at Wonwoo mid chew.

"What?" Wonwoo asks. Seungcheol swallows and smiles at Wonwoo.

"That's a really great input."

"Thanks. I used to put an ungodly amount of cheese on ramen and everything spicy, so." Wonwoo says and Seungcheol laughs.

"Okay dishes."

"Can I keep eating the pasta."

"We'll go back to actually eating later. Let's finish this first." Wonwoo groans as Seungcheol pushes the pasta away and he places three containers in front of Wonwoo.

"So, they're all fried but each of them are different dishes. And we have three for this because we can't pick just two."

"So first is gonna taste a lot like garlic, the second is gonna be sour, and the last one is sweet." Seungcvheol explains and Wonwoo stares as Seungcheol takes the lid off the food.

"I don't know which one I'm smelling but i like it already." Wonwoo says and Seungcheol pulls the first one close. Wonwoo was about to cut a piece with his fork but Seungcheol tells him to use his chopsticks. Wonwoo did as he was told and was amazed that the meat falls apart easily.

"Dude, that's awesome." Wonwoo stares at the meat and he stares at how brown the meat is inside as well. He puts the piece in his mouth and, do you know when those cooking channels tell you about the meat feeling like it's melting in your mouth? Yeah, that's what's going on right now.

"That's so cool. How is it so soft?" Wonwoo asks and Seungcheol smiles.

"We cooked it in the marinade for over four hours with a fuck ton of garlic and honey. It's amazing that it kept its shape, to be honest." Seungcheol says and Wonwoo tries cutting it in half with his chopsticks and it cuts like a knife on butter.

"Second one, come on. Don't play with that." Seungcheol says and Wonwoo moves to the next. The pork was cut in small cubes and they had this soft brown color on one side and a creamy white on the other. He picks up one and takes it in his mouth and was surprised when he bites into it. It was fried so he assumed it'd taste like usual, but as he bites down onto it, it gives off this sour juice and Wonwoo had to cover his mouth because he felt like his mouth was about to start spurting juice. He bites it as much as he could and swallows. Seungcheol was smiling the entire time and Wonwoo didn't even know what to say.

"That's our take on  _ Sinigang _ . It's this tamarind base soup from the Philippines and we decided to like, make a deconstructed version of it. Obviously we have, like, some soup like this here, but I like how Sinigang is sour and like, really flavorful. We used pork belly and let it soften in a soup we made and cut it into bite sized pieces before searing it on all sides and letting it fry more on one side. Is it good?" 

"It's like, the soup comes out every time i bite it. It's cool. Especially in the fat part like... It's like the soup turned to jelly." Wonwoo says and he cuts one piece in half with a fork and presses it down and watches as it oozes out.

"That's really cool. Did you come up with all of these?" 

"We worked as a group. But the ideas are all from, you know, all of us. But the cakes where from me."

"Well, the last one you might know how it taste already. I based it on the tonkatsu sauce but I used it as a sort of marinade so it's more like barbeque." Seungcheol explains and Wonwoo stares at the grill marks on it. He cuts a piece off and it's tender as well. He takes it in his mouth and just like Seungcheol said, it was sweet. The sauce was sweet and it really taste better with the burnt kind of flavor you get when cooking barbeque.

"I'm not choosing between these three." Wonwoo says and Seungcheol laughs.

"How is it."

"I like how soft it is. Most barbeque aren't as tender as this and I love how the sauce tastes better because it's like, cooked with the meat." Wonwoo says and Seungcheol starts writing on his notes again.

"What do you think about the other two?"

"Well, the first one is amazing. But i think it's just, I kind of just taste garlic. I'm not opposed to it since I love garlic but, yeah. The other two are better if basing it on flavor but I really love how soft this is like it's stupidly soft." Seungcheol laughs and nods, still writing.

"And the second one?"

"I love it. It's really good, like, I can taste the soup in the meat itself. It's weird, but like, good weird. You know?" Wonwoo says and Seungcheol nods. 

"Do you wanna eat and leave the cake for later?"

"Nah. Let's get this over with. Then I'll take care of that pasta." Wonwoo says and Seungcheol smiles and nods. 

"So, like i said. Coffee cake with lavender glaze and then the tea cake with mocha frosting." Seungcheol says and Wonwoo tries the first one. The coffee cake was really good. It's the first cake Wonwoo's had that the bread itself tastes great. And the lavender glaze is just amazing and it makes the coffee in the cake taste better.

"I feel like I'd love this just as like, the cake itself. But the glaze is great. Like it's perfect for the cake. Both of them have, like, this really strong flavor and the sweetness really helps combine the flavor? I don't know if I'm making sense but what I'm saying is that I want a cake like this every year. Or like, for my wedding." Wonwoo says and Seungcheol looks up at him from his notes and Wonwoo belatedly realized that he should probably not talk about marriage in front of the guy he's dating.

"Try the other one first before you propose to the cake, alright?" Seungcheol jokes and Wonwoo laughs. The other cake was more like the typical ones, with a light cake and frosting, but the flavors were nothing Wonwoo's ever had. The cake itself was great and it seems like the tea he used was rather sweet because it's a great and deep flavor but it does well as a flavor for a cake. And the frosting is really great, it's not as sweet and it actually taste like coffee.

"I keep saying 'this is good' so much that i'm starting to sound stupid but i honestly do not know what to say other than it's so good." Wonwoo says and Seungcheol laughs.

"I love the frosting, like, it's still got that light bitter taste that goes really well with the cake. And the cake too! Like, it's really great. I could eat these without the frosting, honestly." Wonwoo says and Seungcheol finishes up writing and smiles up at Wonwoo.

"Alright. That's that. Thanks for the comments, Nonu." Wonwoo rolls his eyes at the pet name and Seungcheol leans in for a quick kiss.

"I'm the one getting free food so, don't thank me." Wonwoo says and Seungcheol laughs. 

"Still. You're the best lab rat anyone could ever ask for." Seungcheol says and Wonwoo laughs. 

"Shut up. I'm not sharing pasta number two, by the way." Wonwoo says, already reaching for the said pasta and Seungcheol just laughs as turns to face Wonwoo.

Seungcheol then places his notebook back in his bag and moves back next to Wonwoo. This time, one of his legs was thrown over Wonwoo's lap as the other was stretched out behind Wonwoo. His hands were wrapped around Wonwoo torso and Wonwoo fakes his annoyance every time he feeds Seungcheol the entire night. 

  
  
  


That friday, Wonwoo walks up to their discussion room with a huge smile on his face and a good kind of weight that's secured in between the pages of his notebook. He had them laminated earlier, as per Jeonghan's suggestion, which is why he's a few minutes later than he should be when he comes in the room. He smiles wider when he sees Jihoon and Hansol pressed closed on the end of the table, Jihoon's laptop open in front of them. The two of them sharing a pair of earphones, as Hansol scrolls through his phone. Wonwoo smiles at them when they both looked up and Wonwoo flips through his book, pulls them out, and places it on the table, right next to Jihoon's laptop as he walks behind them and then walked around the table to take a seat on the other end of the table. Jihoon was staring at him through the top of his laptop and Hansol was already smiling up at him. Jihoon stares at them for a while and Wonwoo rolls his eyes as he places his bag on the table in front of him.

"Advance happy birthday." Wonwoo says and Jihoon scowls at him. Then he turns to scowl at Hansol who just smiles wider.

"Traitor." Jihoon says to Hansol as he grabs for them and holds them up in front of him. Wonwoo take pride in the smile on Jihoon's face as he looks at them and Hansol coos and tries to steal them away from Jihoon's hands.

"You made these? Dude. What the fuck?" Hansol says and Jihoon hands him one. 

Wonwoo made him a portrait of him like the one he did for Jeonghan. But these were smaller, he made sure they would be able to fit in his wallet or something small. Like the back of his I.D.. And Jeonghan suggested to have them laminated so they'd be sturdier and that's how he ended up with these. 

One was of him and Hansol. They both fell asleep in the same seats they're in right now a while back and Wonwoo had managed to steal a couple of photos before Jihoon stirred awake. Jihoon's head was leaning on Hansol's shoulder, his face was peaceful looking and really cute and Hansol had his beanie pulled down to cover his eyes, his head thrown back a bit with his jaw slack and mouth open a bit. He used watercolor paper this time and used water color for the base and his markers to add more depth to the colors. Wonwoo made sure to show a bit more details on Hansol's jacket that Jihoon was wearing and from the looks of Jihoon's face, Wonwoo's gonna take it as a win.

The other was one of just Hansol. It was from one of their late night walks and talks through convenience stores and twenty-four hour coffee shops. The night he had asked him more about Jihoon and how he felt towards him. Hansol had talked about him all night looking out at the window and Wonwoo took a picture secretly. Hansol had on a massive hoodie and sweatpants that swallowed his frame and he had on a really bright orange beanie. Wonwoo made sure to make this one more soft, he didn't harden the colors of the edges but he made sure to still put some depth to it. 

Wonwoo had placed two different dried leaves on the back to make them look even better and Jihoon can't help smiling as he turns them over over and over again. He looks back up at Wonwoo and back down to the cards and he smiles.

"Thank you. Really. These are... these are great. They're awesome, Wonwoo." Jihoon says and Wonwoo nods.

"Hey, you have a picture of this?" Hansol asks as he grabs one from Jihoon's hand and faces the one with the two of them to Wonwoo.

"Yeah. And no, I'm not sending it."

"Aw, come on, man. We look cute." Hansol says and Jihoon grabs the card from his hand, takes his wallet out of his backpack, and places them in the small pocket with a window. Jihoon shows it to Wonwoo with a smile before placing it back in his bag.

"They're really cool. Like, it's cool how detailed they are."

"I actually drew them bigger than that. I just had them scanned and printed smaller." Wonwoo says and he pulls out the A4 sized watercolor paper he drew them on and he can't help but smile at their shocked faces.

"Can I have those?" Jihoon surprises the three of them for asking first and he only blushed a bit when Hansol smiles at him.

"I don't know..." Wonwoo says and Hansol stood up.

"Let me have them! He already has a copy!" Hansol says and he was about to walk around the table when Jihoon pulls him back by his hand.

"That's not fair!" Jihoon says and Wonwoo smiles at them.

"That's totally fair." Hansol teases. 

"But- But it's my birthday!" Jihoon screams and they all whipped their heads when the door opens as Mingyu's head peeks in.

"Can you guys keep it down a bit? Thanks." They all apologized and Mingyu stares at the portrait in Wonwoo's hands.

"That's cool. Oh, and happy birthday Jihoon." Mingyu says with a smile before he pulls his head back and closes the door. Wonwoo laughs and hands them the portraits.

"I was gonna give them anyways." Wonwoo says and Jihoon thanks him as he grabs for them over the table.

The two of them stare at the portrait for a while and Wonwoo almost felt embarrassed by it. He's always been good at these type of things. Jungkook was the first to tell him he loved it and after that Wonwoo had let them be seen by eyes asides from his. He had framed three back at their house. One of him and Jungkook as a gift for their mom on her birthday, and one of their mom smiling with a flower crown on her head that Jungkook made for her back in his elementary days. And one is a photo of the three of them taken by Jeonghan on Jungkook's thirteenth birthday. Jungkook's face lit up by the candles of the cake in front of him as their mom stands on his left and Wonwoo to his right. 

"These are honestly so cool." Hansol says again as he holds up his portrait and Jihoon laughs.

"I think you broke him." Jihoon says as he grabs for the portrait and slips them inside a folder that he got from his bag. Wonwoo saw a glimpse of sheet music as Jihoon closes it and places it in his bag again.

"I can't draw to save my life." Hansol says and Jihoon laughs.

"That's only fair. You're already super smart." Jihoon says and Hansol smiles bashfully.

"You literally have a paper article about how smart you are and you blush at 'super smart'?" Wonwoo interjects and Jihoon glares at him as Hansol laughs.

"Were they hard? How long do these take you?" Hansol asks as Jihoon closes his laptop.

"Couple of hours each? I wanted to take my time with the colors so-"

"Couple of hours? And that's you taking your time?" Hansol asks and Wonwoo shrugs.

Their entire time in the library that day was spent on Wonwoo trying to teach Hansol how to draw Jihoon and they eventually have to stop since their time is up in the room and Hansol stares at half of Jihoon's face on his notebook. Jihoon had invited Wonwoo out for dinner and says that the invitation extends to Seungcheol as well. Wonwoo asked if it was really okay and Jihoon says it is. Everyone else had already sort of celebrated with him. Soonyoung had settled for lunch with them earlier since Jihoon caught on to him planning a surprise. Everyone had greeted him, Ten gave him a cupcake the moment he had woken up and Johnny had almost killed him with a hug when they met up for breakfast. Jihoon seems to really like the gift Wonwoo had given him.

So Wonwoo texted Seungcheol as they were on their way to their dorms first to leave their things and Seungcheol came a few minutes after Wonwoo had changed. The smell of burnt sugar and cinnamon was stuck to his hair and he asks if he needed to wash up but Wonwoo admits that he likes it. 

They spent the entire night out. They ate at Mr. Jung's place, Jihoon admitting that he loves the pastries there and Mr. Jung even gave him a free birthday muffin and Jihoon blushes so bad when Jaehyun had come up to their table to sing him a happy birthday and Wonwoo was surprised at how amazing Jaehyun's singing voice was. Afterwards they walk around some more, buying different food around the area and Hansol dragging Jihoon to every stall. Wonwoo realizes that it's their first time here at night so he can't really blame Hansol for being excited. 

They pass by a convenience store before going back to their rooms and Jihoon goes in and comes out with a tub of ice cream and two bottles of beer. Hansol laughs out loud as he takes the ice cream away from him and Seungcheol uncaps the bottles by slamming the caps off on the edge of the tables outside the store. Hansol then asks for spoons back inside and they ate the ice cream in between sips of their beer. None of them have to worry about classes in the morning and half a beer isn't gonna do much damage anyways. Although Hansol does get a bit red in the face and a bit more clingy to Jihoon but he blames it on his hormones instead of the alcohol. Which was a clear sign that it actually was because of the beer. 

They end up back in their dorm a little past midnight and they only get slightly scolded by Johnny when he opens the door for Hansol. Wonwoo tries not to react when Jihoon kisses Hansol goodnight and he has to pull Seungcheol away just to keep him from staring. They say good night to Jihoon as he unlocks the door to their room and Jihoon thanks them for celebrating his birthday and thanks Wonwoo again for the gifts.

The next morning they went out for breakfast and Jihoon tries to act like he's annoyed by it all. The greetings, the not so gentle pats on his shoulder, the different paper bags of gifts they all gave. But Jihoon thanks them all sincerely and even smiles genuinely. He said he was gonna spend the day with Hansol and Wonwoo smiles when they left right before lunch. 

Wonwoo packed his bag before going out for lunch since he's gonna head straight to the library right after and Seungcheol only annoyed him to just stay in their dorms for about ten minutes before he left him alone and let him pack. They spent lunch with Johnny and Ten and Wonwoo feels like it's been a while since the last time they did. Johnny was telling him about the Thanksgiving thing he was planning for everyone and Ten just smiles at him the whole time. After that the three of them heads back to their dorm and Wonwoo heads straight to the library and messages Doyoung about where he was and Doyoung immediately sent back a photo taken from his seat and Wonwoo laughs.

"You could've just said you were here, yknow." Wonwoo says and Doyoung shrugs, eyes not lifting off his book. He managed to take the table at the far end of the library right by the window and Wonwoo smiles as he pulls out his laptop and plugs it in. 

"Too much effort." Doyoung says and Wonwoo scoffs.

"How much effort is 'I'm at the corner of the library.'?" Wonwoo asks and Doyoung looks up at him and smiles. 

"Any effort is always too much effort. Especially if it's for you." He says sweetly and Wonwoo rolls his eyes before taking a seat. 

They kept to themselves almost the entire time, Doyoung randomly asking the english word for something and sometimes even asking for Wonwoo's input on a paragraph he's done while Wonwoo finishes sketch on his sketchpad, scans it on his phone with this app Minghao told him about, and then editing it in his laptop before asking Doyoung what he thinks. Which Doyoung would reply with totally unhelpful comments like 'oh, that's nice', or 'that's so cool', and even 'the colors look pretty'. Wonwoo stopped asking after that last one. 

But around five in the afternoon, Mignhao messaged him asking him where he was and Wonwoo replied immediately that he's in the library. Minghao then pops up from behind him and laughs softly when Wonwoo jumps in his seat.

"So I finished my minor plate and wanted to ask you something." Minghao says as he takes a seat. He and Doyoung exchanges smiles and Minghao then grabs for Wonwoo's sketch pad and studies it.

"Oh, these are good. You went for more sharp edges, too!" Minghao says and he pulls out his tab from his bag and pulls up his plate and shows it to Wonwoo. 

"Why should I help you? I'm still not done with mine. You should be helping me." Wonwoo says but takes the tab from Minghao's hands anyways. 

"You're already done, though. Besides. It's just a three bedroom house." Minghao says and Wonwoo studies Minghao's plate as he speaks. 

"Sure. Did you read the hand outs?"

"Yeah."

"Thoroughly?" 

"Who reads those thoroughly?" 

"Nerds" Doyoung interjects and Wonwoo glares at him and he just smiles at them.

"Well, I did. And it says their older son likes hiking and has a mountain bike while the younger son likes reading and that their dog likes him the most."

"How are these relevant in any way?" Wonwoo laughs. He double taps the tab and edits the picture.

Wonwoo then encircles the carport with a huge red circle along with the bedroom for the older and younger brother.

"Your carport has no space for the bike at all." Wonwoo then draws the symbol for a bicycle on the floor plan.

"Your bed room for the older brother may need a bigger closet for hiking stuff, i checked the book earlier. It's not necessary but it's kind of better to make it obvious, I guess." Wonwoo draws a bigger rectangle for the closet.

"And don't put the book shelf in the living room. The bedroom would be better, I think. It says in the handout that he's the only one who likes reading." Wonwoo then crosses out the bookshelf in the living room and then draws a rectangle over the area where the desk was supposed to be and then draws the desk next to it. He saves the photo as a new photo and then adds a signature at the bottom right corner before saving it again. 

He smiles at Minghao and hands him the tab and Minghao just stares at him.

"They're just suggestions. You don't have to do exactly as I drew but minor details like that would get you, like, a lot of deductions from architect Lee." Wonwoo says and Mignhao nods.

"Thanks. Wow. Maybe I should've read the handouts." 

"Yeah. You should've. Now scram." Wonwoo says and Minghao smiles at him and shoves his tab down his bag. He says goodbye to Doyoung as well before walking off. 

Wonwoo finishes up rendering his work and catches Doyoung looking at him over his laptop.

"What?" Wonwoo asks and Doyoung shrugs.

"Nothing. You two looked cute. You're big brother complex is really something." Doyoung says and Wonwoo scowls.

"I don't know if big brother complex is a thing, but if it is i'm pretty sure you're using it wrong." Wonwoo argues and Doyoung shrugs again.

"Oh, really?" Doyoung teases and Wonwoo frowns.

"What? I just thought it'd be nice to help." Wonwoo says and Doyoung nods.

"It is. But given how you 'help' them, you might give someone the wrong idea." Doyoung says and Wonwoo's frown deepens. Oh if only Doyoung knows.

"Why? Like... How am I giving someone the wrong idea?" Wonwoo asks and Doyoung shuts his book and stretches his arms and back.

"I don't know. Just... Maybe it's just how you are, but you're way too soft on them."

"Them?"

"Yeah. Them. People younger than you." Doyoung says and Wonwoo thinks for a second.

Does he treat them differently? He's only treating Minghao the way he does because he's literally the only friend he's made in all of his major subjects and he's close with Hansol because he's literally one of the very first people he met on campus this year. Wonwoo never once thought that their age was ever a factor in that. He basically treats Soonyoung the same as Hansol, too, so...

"Is it a bad thing?" Wonwoo asks and Doyoung closes his book. 

"What is?" he asks. 

"I don't know… I feel like I'm not treating them any different than the others." Wonwoo says and Doyoung shrugs, smiling softly. 

"I didn't mean anything by it, Won." Doyoung says and Wonwoo puts on a smile. 

"Yeah, no. I just… I honestly don't know if I am treating them differently or not. And if they do give them the wrong idea then maybe it is my fault?" Wonwoo says and Doyoung just shrugs. 

"Look, I'm sure it's not like that. If anything, I'm sure they love having someone like you looking out for them the way that you do." Doyoung says with a smile and Wonwoo nods. 

"Well. Anyways. It's almost six. We should head back." Doyoung says and he packs his books one by one and leaves one on the table as he zips his bag. Wonwoo shuts down his laptop and fixes his stuff back in his bag as he waits for it to shut down and he unplugs the charger and rolls it before closing his laptop and carefully putting it in his bag. Doyoung was already standing next to his chair with his backpack on and a book in his arms and Wonwoo rolls his eyes when Doyoung threatens to leave him. 

The night went on with having dinner with Seungcheol, Yuta, Taeyong, Doyoung, and Soonyoung in Yuta's temporary house. Like always, Seungcheol shoulders the responsibility of cooking and Wonwoo gives everyone a disapproving look whenever they pass by the kitchen. Wonwoo helps any way he can, when Seungcheol asks for something, when he makes Wonwoo get something from the fridge, when Seungcheol would stop chopping whatever he was chopping to turn to Wonwoo and ask for a kiss, when he'd ask Wonwoo to stir this or to watch that. Wonwoo helped with the rice. That one he can't fuck up. So when Seungcheol was set and was just cleaning up, Wonwoo subtly rinses the rise and then gave it enough water before setting it in the rice cooker. By the time Seungcheol was done cleaning and turned to the rice cooker, Wonwoo smiles smugly at him and Seungcheol gave him an amused smile.

"Are you trying to impress me with your rice cooking skills?" Seungcheol asks as he walks up to Wonwoo and Wonwoo turns and lets his lower back hit the counter as Seungcheol cages him in with his hands on either side of Wonwoo . 

"I don't know. Is it working?" Wonwoo asks, Seungcheol's smiling face a few inches away from his face.

"Not really." Seunghceol says and Wonwoo hears a soft click from behind and he turns his head to see Seuncheol's hand leaving the rice cooker and Wonwoo sighs. 

"I'm sure you did your best." Seungcheol says, wrapping his arms around Wonwoo's waist and Wonwoo scoffs.

"Don't patronize me. I know how to use a rice cooker, okay." Wonwoo says as he crosses his arms in front of his chest.

"I'm sure you do. I don't doubt it for a second. I bet you make the  _ fluffiest _ rice, ever." Seungcheol says with a grin and Wonwoo rolls his eyes before pushing him off.

"You're sleeping in your bed tonight. Alone." Wonwoo says as he makes his way to the fridge. He stares at the surplus of beer that's taking up half the space inside the fridge and grabs a bottle. Seungcheol takes the bottle from his hand and grabs a spoon from the rack and uses it to uncap the bottle. 

"You sure you can survive a night away from me?" Seungcheol asks as he hands over the beer and Wonwoo gives him a leveled look before taking the bottle and smiling. 

"I've managed before." Wonwoo says and Seungcheol nods with a smile. 

Seungcheol then goes back in front of the stove and Wonwoo feels like maybe that wasn't the best thing to say. Wonwoo then takes a few gulps of the beer and sets it at the island before walking up to Seungcheol and taking his hand.

"I said I've managed before. I never said I'll like it." Wonwoo says and Seungcheol just smiles as he shakes his head.

"Alright. Well, feel free to climb in bed anytime in the middle of the night." Seungcheol says and Wonwoo nods. But Seungcheol was still a bit... off?

"You okay?" Wonwoo asks and for a fraction of a second, Wonwoo sees Seungcheol's face fall into a frown before he conjures up his unsure smile.

"Yeah... Yeah, I just... I was thinking." Seungcheol says and Wonwoo squeezes his hand.

"In any other case I'd say that's dangerous but you're being very serious right now. So, you were thinking, and?" 

"And... Well... do you think we're too... into each other's life?" Seungcheol says and Wonwoo tries to think for a second.

"What?" Wonwoo stares.

"No. Just. Okay, look. We wake up next to each other, eat together at least once a day, have the same group of friends, and then we sleep next to each other... every day..." Seungcheol says and Wonwoo's sure he missed something there.

"Okay... And?" Wonwoo asks again and Seungcheol lets out a soft frustrated noise that makes Wonwoo want to kiss him and Wonwoo holds himself back and lets Seungcheol explain.

"Doesn't it seem too, well, domestic? And we're not even..." Seungcheol trails off and he stirs whatever was in the pan with the hand Wonwoo's not holding.

"Not even boyfriends yet?" Wonwoo asks and Seungcheol flushes a bit as he nods. Wonwoo's sure it's just from the steam coming from the food. He's sure.

"Well, do you want to be my boyfriend?" Wonwoo asks and Seungcheol's head whipped so fast Wonwoo's sure he heard something in Seungcheol's neck pop.

"What?" Seungcheol says. Or more, screams. 

"What? I was just... Would you like it better if it were more romantic? I can go up and wear my emergency tux in my backpack." Wonwoo jokes and Seungcheol turns the stove off with a laugh before facing Wonwoo.

"Wonwoo, what the fuck. You can't just drop that bomb on me like this. I don't even know what day it is today." 

"Holy shit, it's Jihoon's birthday. Okay, uhm, don't say yes." Wonwoo says and Seungcheol stares at Wonwoo for a couple of seconds before letting out a loud and breathless laugh. Wonwoo can't help but smile at Seungcheol but he honestly didn't know what's so funny.

"I'm serious! We can't have our anniversaries the same day as Jihoon's birthday. What if he plans to take us out for dinner or something." Wonwoo argues and Seungcheol catches his breath.

"I'm pretty sure we'd all still be busy next year, Won." Seungcheol says, wiping away tears from his eyes and Wonwoo shrugs.

"Yeah, but what about after college? He's bound to be some big shot music producer or something and he'll be filthy rich and he's gonna invite us to his mansion or his yacht or something." Wonwoo jokes and laugh only to see Seungcheol staring.

Just staring.

Wonwoo doesn't know what he said wrong. He doesn't even know if he said anything wrong.

And he was just about to ask Seungcheol if he did say something wrong when Seungcheol pulls him by his shirt in one hand and uses the other to hold Wonwoo's face as he kisses him softly. Wonwoo was a bit taken aback at first but he's never one to not reciprocate any of Seungcheol's kisses. Especially slow and tender kisses like this with Seungcheol's hands pulling on the collar of his shirt. Seungcheol pulls away slowly and Wonwoo opens his eyes before him and sees him slowly opens them with this soft but heavy look in his eyes. His hands still gripping Wonwoo's shirt and holding the side of his face as he smiles at him.

"You think we'd last that long? Even after college?" Seungcheol asks and that's when it hit Wonwoo. 

And honestly, Wonwoo thought the answer would come a bit harder to him. Given that he's never even thought of being with anyone at all before.

But it doesn't. 

"I mean, yeah. Don't you?" Wonwoo asks and Seungcheol smiles softly at him, staring right into his eyes as he leans in for a quick kiss. Wonwoo feels himself blush as Seungcheol stares so he does what he does best.

"Well, I'm not gonna say no to years of free food. Well, that, and the fact that I really like kissing you." Wonwoo teases and Seungcheol laughs softly.

"Ah yes. A promise of a long future ahead of us and it's because of my cooking and lips." Seungcheol says and Wonwoo shrugs.

"Not just lips. I said I like kissing you, never said anything about where i like kissing you." Seungcheol's grip on his shirt tightens and Wonwoo can't help but smile. 

"Still think you don't swing?"

"I guess I'll only swing for this curve ball." Wonwoo says as he slides his hand in Seungcheol's back pocket. Seungcheol laughs.

"Do you even know how to play baseball?" Seungcheol asks,a coy smile on his face. 

"I don't know a single thing about it aside from home runs. But my point is, curve ball." Wonwoo then emphasizes his point by squeezing Seungcheol's ass and Seungcheol slaps his arm.

"We're in a kitchen!" Seungcheol whisper yells and Wonwoo smiles wider. 

"I am aware. I know what a kitchen is. I'm taking up architecture." Wonwoo says and Seungcheol laughs.

"But seriously, though. Maybe I was just your gay awakening." Seungcheol teases and Wonwoo shrugs.

"Well, maybe. I kissed Jeonghan before but i didn't feel anything back then." Wonwoo says and Seungcheol's eyes widened.

"What?" Seungcheol asks and Wonwoo ignores his wide eyed stare.

"Yeah. Don't worry, I only like kissing you." Wonwoo says and Seungcheol rolls his eyes before pushing Wonwoo away.

"Yeah, I guess until you get another curve ball." Seungcheol says as he turns to the stove again and Wonwoo laughs.

"Are we really gonna let curveball be a thing?" Wonwoo asks, laughing and Seungcheol tries to push him away as Wonwoo walks closer. 

"You started this with your 'i don't swing' bullshit. Honestly, was that really the best you could come up with?" Seungcheol says, pushing Wonwoo's chest and Wonwoo laughs as he staggered back.

They bicker like that until the rice cooker dings and Wonwoo calls everyone to the kitchen as Seungcheol pulls out plates and utensils from the cabinets. 

An hour after dinner, when they're all lounging about and sprawled around in the living room, Jihoon and Hansol emerges from the door with two paper bags each and Hansol calls them out to the kitchen for ice cream. That's when Wonwoo finally realized that Jihoon's biological makeup is basically ten percent human, thirty percent angst and personality, and then sixty percent chilled artificial flavor. The whole Ice cream thing in the convenience store makes more sense now, too. He probably treated Hansol ice cream so he can have his two favorites at once.

Wonwoo doesn't voice that out, though. He knew better.

So that's how they all ended up in the living room again, scattered about with a mug of ice cream in one hand and a bottle of beer in the other. 

Wonwoo can see everyone from his place, he and Seungcheol have managed to fit themselves in a love seat, facing the living room and their backs to the dining area. on the couch were Taeyong, Doyoung, Jihoon, and Yuta, with Hansol sitting on the floor in front of Jihoon and Soonyoung in front of Doyoung. Soonyoung did a stupid thing againa nd decided to pour beer on the melted ice cream in his cup and stirs it before drinking. Hansol was about to follow through and do as Soonyoung did but Jihoon stops him when Soonnyoung slams the mug down on the coffee table in front of them and did the most painfully disgusting face ever.

When midnight passes, Yuta offers everyone to just stay the night. He and Taeyong can room together, Jihoon and Hansol can share one room, and Wonwoo and Seungcheol can share the last, while Doyoung and Soonyoung can share the pullout couch. But Taeyong declines and says he's walking back to the dorms because he wants the comfort of his bed, and Doyoung and Soonyoung said they'll be going too. They thanked Yuta and Seungcheol for the dinner and then headed out. Hansol had messaged Johnny already and made sure to ask him to relay the message to Ten as well. Yuta bids them good night and heads upstairs first. Wonwoo asks Jihoon which room they want and Wonwoo doesn't know if he should laugh or cringe.

Wonwoo watches as Jihoon and Hansol fidgets around each other and Wonwoo rolls his eyes before pulling Seungcheol by the hand.

"Yuta already locked the doors and windows so just turn off the lights when you go to sleep." Wonwoo says as he walks up the stairs with Seungcheol in tow and he didn't have to turn around to know that Hansol and Jihoon we're both looking a bit embarrassed. 

  
  


\-----

  
  


Wonwoo's been with the guys for four months now and as much as he wants to think that he knows them completely, he still ends up getting surprised every time he finds out something new. 

Like how he found out Soonyoung's a professional dancer years ago, this was proven by two dozen youtube videos. Or that Jihoon was a wasted talent in a broadcasting station ever since they found out he can sing. Like, Sing sing. Or how Yuta is like, an actual living prince, in a way, because of his parents' job or something. It explains the money, really. Oh and how Taeyong is actually a model. Like, he's been on a magazine before. 

Really, Wonwoo tries not to take it personally for not knowing these but what he can't take is finding out that Seungcheol is a totally different person when he's in the kitchen and when he's under a time frame. He's absolutely scary, no one should be as good and fast as he is with a knife and standing in front of an open fire, and yet here he is. Wonwoo tries not to stare, really, but everyone pushed him in the kitchen to try and diffuse him before he breaks the entire kitchen with just his staring since Taeyong can't get to him anymore.

  
  
  


It's been a week since their tasting session and they're all in Yuta's house for Friendsgiving. 

Johnny came up with it, saying that Thanksgiving is celebrated on the fourth Thursday of November, and Hansol just agrees when Johnny tries to make them all celebrate thanksgiving. Eventually, everyone agreed as long as it's called FriendsGiving. Soonyoung and Hansol were excited about it and Wonwoo can't help but be excited, too. And since it's gonna be like thanksgiving, they're gonna need food. And whenever they talk about food, it's always Seungcheol that gets the job, willingly or otherwise. 

Wonwoo had helped him shop for everything with Johnny and Yuta tagging along. Yuta volunteered to pay for everything and Johnny almost punches him right there because he shouldn't keep wasting money on them. But Yuta just stared up at him with a confused face and asks him how is it a waste if it's for his best friends. Johnny looked like he was gonna cry right there so Wonwoo pulls Seungcheol and they go and buy as much as they can. Johnny agreed to any food they want as long as they make two things; mashed potatoes and turkey. The turkey eventually has to just be chicken since all three marts they drove to were all out of turkey. They decided that it's gonna be a closed event. No friends outside the dorms. Soonyoung sulks, probably because he wanted Mingyu to join them, so Wonwoo tells him they can all go out on the weekend with Mingyu and Chungha and that's all it takes for him to be lively again.

  
  


Seungcheol made a list of ingredients for every dish. There's the fried chicken, the list for the baked mac, the list for mashed potato, the list for the macaroni salad, the list for kimbap, and the list for pie. They split up in two teams of two and Seungcheol gave the lists for the pies, the mashed potato, and kimbap to Yuta and Johnny as he hands Wonwoo the list for the chicken, baked mac, and the macaroni salad. It took them an hour to get everything. Wonwoo stares at the four kilograms of chicken legs and breasts, and the two bags of one kilograms of macaroni. Seungcheol then just maneuvers him around the aisles and places stuff on the cart as Wonwoo pushes it along. Wonwoo almost wants to cry at the price when they got to the cashier but Yuta just hands over his card and Johnny starts placing the paper bags in the carts and they all head out. Apparently, everyone was already in the house, cleaning up and preparing stuff, and Seungcheol was to give everyone something to do. So when Johnny drives them back, Seungcheol starts listing stuff down and starts making instructions they can follow in case they don't know what to do.

The moment they get in the house, they grab a paper bag each and the rest come out and takes the rest of the bags in. Seungcheol then sits them down in the living room and started giving instructions. He's gonna handle the pie and kimbap with Wonwoo and Jun. He says he'll prepare the pie as Wonwoo and Jun prepares the ingredients for the kimbap. The mashed potato was given to Johnny per his request and Seungcheol asks Ten to help him out. He assigns the fried chicken to Yuta, Taeyong, and Doyoung. Since there's a lot to fry so they can alternate or take turns. The baked mac was a bit hard but Jihoon says he can handle it if Seungcheol gives some sort of recipe and Seungcheol thanks him. The macaroni salad was the easiest so he's glad Soonyoung got it. He asks Kun to help out Soonyoung so Hansol happily went to Jihoon's team. They were all set for the day and Yuta says he already ordered pizza for lunch since they'll be cooking all afternoon. They ate first, and Seungcheol says that starting at around two would be okay so they lounged around a bit before actually cooking.

They let the mashed potato and macaroni teams to cook first, Soonyoung watches and stirs the two pots as Jihoon, Hansol, and Kun prepares their ingredients with the rest. Doyoung rinses the chicken with Yuta as Taeyong makes the coating as per Seungcheol's recipe. Wonwoo and Jun washes the fruits for the pie and the vegetables for the kimbap as Seungcheol takes out his premade pie crust out of the fridge and started preparing them. 

Soonyoung announces that the pasta was done just as Wonwoo and the others move from the sink to the dining table to start their cutting. Kun drains theirs and lets it cool as he and Soonyoung prepares for the macaroni salad as Jihoon asks Hansol to drain the macaroni and to place it on the baking tray as he started frying bacon. Johnny then takes their potatoes out of the heat and drains them. Ten then adds milk and butter in the pot and Johnny starts mashing. Taeyong then starts coating their chicken with the help of Yuta and Doyoung and Wonwoo stares at the huge bowl of coated chicken. Wonwoo finishes slicing up the apples and mangos and he and Jun did as Seungcheol says and started using the blender to blend the mangoes and oranges. After that Seungcheol came up to them with a bowl and they tossed the apple slices and pour the mango orange smoothie. Seungcheol then adds some powder in the mixture and starts mixing it. Wonwoo then went back to the table with Jun so they can start with cutting the vegetables. 

Kun and Soonyoung ended up finishing first, putting the huge container of macaroni salad in the fridge and turns to help Jun and Wonwoo in slicing. Kun then volunteers to start cooking rice and Wonwoo looks at Jun who was very focused on slicing before nodding at Kun. Jihoon and Hansol finished theirs as well and asks Seungcheol how hot the oven should be. Seungcheol takes out the pie crust from the over and places the two trays of macaroni from them and places it inside. He then asks them to place the apples on the pie as he does that thing on top of the pie that looks like a net on top. Taeyong and Yuta started frying the chicken on the deep fryer beside the rice cooker and they watch the chicken carefully as Doyoung looks for a dish big enough for all of the chicken. Johnny was talking Ten through making the gravy next to him as he keeps mashing the potatoes and Wonwoo's already getting hungry from the smell.

Kun finally announces that the rice is done and came to the table with it still steaming hot. So Seungcheol seasoned it and asks him to start fluffing it up so it'll cool down quickly. He then goes back to Jihoon and Hansol and thanks them for doing the pie and they watched as Seungcheol fixes the top of the pie before putting it inside the oven. Johnny and Ten then announces that they're done with theirs and they covered both and moved it to the counter. Seungcheol asks everyone to start making the kimbap so it'll be done faster which ended with Soonyoung switching with Kun, him being in charge of the rice as everyone starts making the rolls. Wonwoo, Jun, Kun, Seungcheol, Jihoon, Hansol, Johnny and Ten doing the kimbap at the same time ended up with them finishing everything with just each of them making two rolls. Seungcheol then asks everyone to go and clean up and Yuta tells them to all dress nice for tonight which ended up with half of them heading back to their dorm to change. Wonwoo tells Seungcheol to head back first and he'll look over the pies and the baked mac while he's gone and Jun volunteers to keep him company. Taeyong, Yuta, and Doyoung we're only halfway into cooking all of the chicken and Doyoung dabs each chicken with a paper towel to keep it from getting soggy from excess oil. 

"So, I take it you and Kun are still not okay?" Wonwoo ask. Both he and Jun were in the kitchen and Jun crosses his hands in front of his chest.

"Not exactly." Jun says, staring at the oven with a pained look like it was the one who's at fault for his situation. 

"Can i ask what happened?" Wonwoo asks and Jun looks at him, then back to the oven, then he closes his eyes and sighs. 

"Well, shit happened. I made a stupid decision and it ruined everything. Nothing anyone can help me with." Jun says with a sad smile on his face and Wonwoo laughs.

"Jun. Come on. You're looking at the defending champion of the stupid decisions olympics." Jun laughs softly at that and Wonwoo smiles.

"I kissed him." Jun blurts out and Wonwoo's eyes widened. Jun saw and he blushes, going back to staring at the oven.

"Oh. Okay." Wonwoo says stupidly. Jun then clears his throat and added, "I kissed him and then he left." 

"Oh. Oh! Wait, what?" Wonwoo asks and Jun groans as he turns and leaned on the counter with his elbows. 

"Yeah. It was like, a month ago i guess? We were talking one time and we were both on my bed and he said something stupid and I laughed and he laughed and then we looked at each other and i thought it was like, a moment, y'know? Like it was the moment. Like the right time to kiss him. So i did. But after that he just stares at me without saying anything and I just watched as he got up and left." Jun says softly. Wonwoo is used to seeing the hyper, lively Jun that he knows. But this soft, gentle, vulnerable Jun was just as good.

"Jun." Wonwoo starts but Jun stands up straight and puts on a smile. Like it was the same as putting on an oven mit. Like wearing it would keep him from hurting. 

"Nah. It's fine. It sucks, because i see him everyday and every night and it's like everytime i see him i can hear him ask why I kissed him."

"Jun, that's far from a stupid decision. I should know." Wonwoo says and Jun's smile falters for a second.

"You did what you felt like doing. You acted on what you felt. It seems like a stupid move because you're both trying to avoid it. You're both trying to just jump over it instead of acknowledging it."

"He's the one who left." Jun says sullenly and Wonwoo smiles softly. 

"I get that, but... sometimes you have to make things happen instead of just wanting for them to happen, you know?" Wonwoo says and Jun nods. 

"Don't hate me, but I'm gonna go and talk to him. Like, right now." Jun says and Wonwoo laughs, nodding.

"Well, go ahead!" Wonwoo says, pushing Jun out of the kitchen and he says goodbye to Yuta and the rest as Wonwoo laughs.

Wonwoo turns, moves back in the kitchen and sees the three of them with knowing smiles on their faces and Wonwoo scowls.

"Isn't he a wise one." Yuta says and Taeyong laughs.

"They grow up so fast." Taeyong says and Wonwoo flips them off. He stares at the oven in front of him and then back to his phone. Seungcheol had texted him that he's gonna just bring him his clothes so he can just change in the house and he asked Wonwoo to ask Yuta if they're staying the night.

"I mean, sure? Me and Tae are gonna share the first room, though." 

"Okay, second room's ours." Wonwoo says and Doyoung gave him a look.

"You're not gonna cry again are you?" Doyoung teases and Wonwoo glares. He misses the days where his glare would actually have them intimidated. Now no one acknowledges it.

"No one's getting drunk tonight, thank you. It's a school night." Taeyong says and Wonwoo laughs.

"Sure dad. But Yuta has the fridge half filled with beer plus three cases of beer in the garage so ask him what those are for." Taeyong turns to Yuta and Yuta just shrugs with a smile.

"You are all tiring." Taeyong says and Wonwoo laughs. Friendsgiving is turning out to be better than he initially thought.

  
  
  


An hour later and he comes down the stairs, fresh from a shower and changed into a plain white button up and black jeans. He sees a few of them lounging on the living room and the others fixing the table for all of them. Trying to fit a dozen grown men into a dining table designed for eight people is bound to get a little crowded but they managed to fit in enough chairs and plates for everyone. Seungcheol was standing in the kitchen wearing a navy blue button up, glaring at the oven like it's gonna cook faster if he did as Jun and Kun were slicing the kimbaps on the counter behind him. They were laughing at something Kun said and Jun looks up at Wonwoo with a smile as Taeyong comes up to Wonwoo.

"Your boyfriend there is scaring the kitchen."

"Scaring... the kitchen?" Wonwoo repeats and Taeyong gave him a look.

"Look at him. Go talk him down or something, I don't know. Just no making out in the kitchen." Taeyong says as he leaves Wonwoo to go back to the living room.

Wonwoo goes to Seungcheol's side and sees him actually glaring at the oven.

"What did the oven do to you to make you scowl at it like that?" Wonwoo says and Seungcheol's frown breaks into a smile.

"It disappointed me." Seungcheol says in a serious voice and Wonwoo sidles up next to him.

"Oh. Okay. I'm sure it didn't mean to. You have to understand where it's coming from, you know?' Wonwoo says and Seungcheol steps up in front of him and cages him in, his back against the counter as Seungcheol's arms are locked on the counter on both sides of his hips.

"Are you taking its side?" Seungcheol asks, his face a few inches away from Wonwoo's and Wonwoo smiles.

"Please don't have sex with us here." Jun says from behind Wonwoo and Seungcheol leans in and hooks his chin over Wonwoo's shoulder, pressing himself flush on Wonwoo's chest.

"Oh, so it's allowed if you're not here?" Seungcheol asks and Wonwoo pushes him off by pressing his palm on his chest.

"You're gross." Wonwoo says as Jun makes a gagging sound behind him.

"Only for you." Seungcheol says before leaning in and kissing Wonwoo.

"I said no making out in the kitchen!" Taeyong's voice rang from the other end of the house and Seungcheol laughs. 

Seungcheol then turns off the oven when his timer goes off and everyone settled in the table. Yuta was at the head of the table and Seungcheol was seated on the other end. Wonwoo was seated on the left hand side of Seungcheol and to his left was Soonyoung. In front of Wonwoo was Jihoon and Hansol sits to his right. Next to Hansol was Jun who is just smiling widely at Kun seated in front of him. Johnny was seated at Yuta's left hand side with Ten in between him and Jun as Taeyong was to Yuta's right hand side with Doyoung in between him and Kun. Wonwoo looks around and can't help but smile at everyone dressed up for their little FriendsGiving dinner. Regardless if it's actually just all of them wearing plain button up shirts. 

Before they began, Johnny asked everyone to say something they're thankful for. It can be anything or any one. He started by thanking Yuta and Seungcheol for making this FriendsGiving happen and then he thanks them all for being his fiends, and then he thanks Ten for being a great boyfriend. After that it went for a circle. Ten thanked Johnny for helping him cope here and he thanked his parents for supporting him. Jun was a sap and says thanks to Wonwoo for making him go talk to Kun and then proceeded with thanking Seungcheol and "those glorious guns of yours for making us food" and then thanked everyone for keeping up with him. Hansol's was sweet, He thanked Johnny for taking care of him and he thanked Jihoon for just being there. Wonwoo smiles as Jihoon flushes a bit at that and Wonwoo decided to not point out how Jihoon moved his hand under the table to maybe hold Hansol's hand. Jihoon's was a short "I'm thankful for everyone with me right now and I'm thankful for every single day we have together." Everyone gawkes, of course, and Wonwoo has to squeeze Seungcheol's hand over the table for him to start.

"Well, thanks for everyone's help in the kitchen and thank you to everyone for making me part of your family." Seungcheol then squeezes Wonwoo's hand and stares at him right in his eyes.

"Thanks for making me feel at home." Seungcheol finishes and Wonwoo squeezes his hand back. 

"Your turn." Soonyoung says from his left and Wonwoo sits up straight, looking down at the table.

"Well, thanks for, uh..."

Wonwoo's mind gives him flashes of everything throughout the year.

Sharing a table with Soonyoung and Taeyong on their second day. Seungcheol taking care of him when he was sick. All the lunch adventures Soonyoung had dragged him to. His frequent library sessions with Doyoung outside their discussion room hours. All of Hansol's lame jokes whenever they hang out and walk around at night. Jihoon's frequent sharp-tongued, real talk whenever Wonwoo is freaking out over stuff. The sort of double dates with Ten and Johnny where they talk about anything but college. And then there's Jun's random calls throughout the days. Yuta's infectious loud laugh every time they go out. Then there's Kun always hanging back with Wonwoo when things get too loud at the places they go to. Taeyong and his not so subtle watchful eyes on them every time they go out. Seungcheol throughout the entire semester.

Wonwoo has no idea what to say.

Well, he has an idea of what to say but he doesn't know how to say them properly. How to say how thankful he is of everyone throughout the semester and how he's glad to have them. 

Seungcheol squeezes his hand and Wonwoo snaps out of it. He looks around and smiles.

"Um, thank you for everything. And thank you for everyone here." Wonwoo says. Seungcheol squeezes his hand again and he turns to see him smiling.

Soonyoung then starts right away and started thanking everyone one by one. Wonwoo's glad the attention was shifted out of him and he's glad for the Seungcheol's gentle and constant pressure on his hand. Wonwoo stares at his plate until everyone finishes and he can almost feel a few eyes on him. He shakes it out of his head, whatever it is, and he smiles at Seungcheol as everyone started digging in. 

Dinner passes by in a blur of laughter and a ton of food and Wonwoo hates himself for feeling like this. He has no idea why it has to be now but he feels awful for the obvious tension because of him. He has this heavy and ugly feeling in the pit of his stomach and as much as he tries, he can't do anything to ignore it. Halfway through eating a slice of pie, he excuses himself and went to the bathroom upstairs. He thanks Soonyoung for occupying the bathroom downstairs and he smiles as he heads to their room for the night. 

He sees his phone on the bedside table and he grabs for it and dials the number as he locks himself in the bathroom. He checks the time on his phone and it's already half past eight so she should be home by now. He puts his phone back against his ear and he leans back on the door with a sigh.

_ "Won? Hey, honey." _ His mom's voice rings through his phone and Wonwoo can feel himself relax almost instantly.

"Hey mom." 

_ "Everything okay? Isn't it your thanksgiving thing tonight? Or was that a tuesday?" _ his mom asks and Wonwoo laughs softly.

"Yeah, it is. I just... It's going great. Seungcheol orchestrated the whole thing. He's kind of like you. You know, minus the scary mom side." Wonwoo jokes and he hears his mom laugh.

_ "I can't wait to cook with him some day." _ Wonwoo smiles at the thought of Seungcheol wearing his mom's frilly baby blue apron as she orders him around the kitchen and he clears his throat.

"Oh, yeah. I forgot to give you an update but he's not gonna come with me this break. He already made plans with some of our friends." Wonwoo says.

_ "That's too bad. Well, tell him he's always welcome here whenever, okay?" _ His mom says.

"Yeah." Wonwoo answers softly, not really sure why he did call.

_ "What's wrong?" _ His mom asks and Wonwoo sighs.

"Nothing. It's nothing, i just... I think it just hit me how many friends I've made in the past months." Wonwoo says and he hears his mom sigh.

_ "Wonwoo." _ His mom starts and Wonwoo suppresses a sigh from his end this time. 

"I can't help it..." Wonwoo defends. Because it's true. If anything, he feels terrible for thinking like this.

_ "Honey. It's okay. Don't think too much about it, okay?" _ His mom says and Wonwoo sighs.

"Sorry." Wonwoo apologized and he can almost hear his mom's smile through the phone.

_ "Don't apologize about that, okay? I feel like I should be the one apologizing, really, but... Look, don't think about anything over, like, december. Okay? I don't know them as much as you do but you have to give more credit than that." _ His mom says and Wonwoo nods stupidly again. 

"I know. They're all great. All of them are... but I can't just not-" Wonwoo cuts himself off as he hears someone knock on the door. Making him flinch and move away from the door. 

"I'll call you again later? is that okay?" Wonwoo says quickly. 

_ "Of course. Have fun, okay? Love you." _ His mom says and Wonwoo says it back before he ends the call.

He pocket's his phone and opens the door. Seungcheol steps in and Wonwoo hates how he had this worried look on his face already. It's like he always knows when Wonwoo's in distress and knows just when to come and save him.

  
  


He hates it because of how much he needs it.

He hates it because he's getting used to it.

And he can't get used to it. He doesn't want to get used to it. 

  
  


"Hey." Seungcheol reaches for his hand and Wonwoo just steps forward and wraps his arms around Seungcheol's shoulders. Seungcheol wraps his arms gently around his back, one of his hands presses up to his right shoulder blade as his other hand is pressed softly against the middle of his lower back.

"Everything okay?" Seungcheol asks. Wonwoo mumbles a single yeah as he hides his face on Seungcheol's neck. 

They stay like that for a minute. Seungcheol just holding him there in the middle of the bathroom with their button up shirts and Wonwoo's oddly paired sneakers and Seungcheol's black shoes. Wonwoo breathes in Seungcheol as much as he can. He always smells like something from the kitchen everyday and today he smells like cinnamon and orange peels. 

"Won. You're kind of freaking me out. Are you really okay?" Seungcheol's voice was soft and quiet but it rings throughout the bathroom and Wonwoo takes one last deep breath before he pulls away.

"Yeah. Yeah, sorry." Wonwoo says and he smiles at Seungcheol. 

"I don't know what's going on in that pretty head of yours but, um... We can just stay up here for the rest of the night, you know... Or I can go back down with the rest, if you want to be alone some more..." Wonwoo shakes his head no before Seungcheol even finishes talking and Seungcheol gives him a tight smile. 

"I'm fine. Really. I'm just being weird." Wonwoo says and Seungcheol's gaze on him starts weighing on him more and more.

"Come on. I don't want them to think we're doing something up here." Wonwoo says and Seungcheol nods. He gave Wonwoo one last weighing look before turning around and pulling Wonwoo out of the bathroom by his hand.

They were at the top of the stairs when Seungcheol suddenly stops and turns to face Wonwoo. Wonwoo tries to read Seungcheol's face but it seems like Seungcheol's trying to read his, as well. Seungcheol then cup's Wonwoo's face in his hands. His palm pressed to Wonwoo's jaw, his thumbs caressing his cheeks as his fingers press gently on his skin. 

"I... You know you can tell me anything, right? I'm not telling you to tell me right now, but, just... I'll always be here for you, okay?" Wonwoo smiles. A real and genuine smile as he rubs his index finger and thumb over the tip of Seungcheol's collar.

"You have pie guts on your shirt." Wonwoo says and Seungcheol's serious face breaks into a smile.

"Soonyoung tried to feed me." Seungcheol sasy with an amused smile on his face.

"Did he, now?" Wonwoo says.

"Yeah. You should probably act like you're jealous or something. Torment him. You seem to like that." Seungcheol says and Wonwoo feels his heart lighten at the thought of Seungcheol knowing just what Wonwoo would've done.

"Doyoung and Mingyu told me that the next time I did that kind of thing they'd both skin me alive." Seungcheol laughs softly at that and he lowers his hands to Wonwoo's neck. He stares at Wonwoo for a few seconds and Wonwoo leans in for a quick kiss just because he feels like it. Seungcheol smiles at him and Wonwoo smiles back. They both made their way back down to the dining table where they're welcomed by a few suggestive glances and raised eyebrows.

The night went on well. 

The food was amazing, the company was even better, and Seungcheol was a constant warmth on his side the entire night. They talked about the semester, about how they should do this again next year, and then there was a talk about their christmas plans and Wonwoo laughs along when they laugh and nods whenever Seungcheol asks him if he was doing okay.

After dessert, everyone helped in cleaning up and an hour later, they were walking back to their dorms. Wonwoo says goodnight to everyone and Seungcheol lets him take a bath first but Wonwoo insist the elder goes first as he calls his mom. Seungcheol nods and gives him a kiss on the cheek before Wonwoo takes a step out of their room. He walks at the end of the aisle, right in front of the last, empty room, as he dials up his mom's number.

Wonwoo's not sure why it has to hit him now, of all days. He's never had a day like this before and he's pretty sure he never will again. It was fun and exhausting and everything Wonwoo never thought he'd have in college. They all skipped a day in class but he's pretty sure none of them are complaining about that.

The ringing cuts and Wonwoo hears his mom's voice on his phone.

_ "Hey. You guys done already? It's hardly midnight." _ His mom says and Wonwoo laughs.

"We all have classes tomorrow, mom. We already skipped today so we can't risk even being late tomorrow." Wonwoo says and he hears his mom laugh.

_ "Well, as long as you had fun." _

"I did. We all did." Wonwoo says.

_ "That's good then. Wanna still talk? We can do it tomorrow, if you want." _ His mom offers but Wonwoo smiles.

"It's okay mom. I'm okay. Everything was just... I i just remembered what you kept telling me. What you kept telling us. A Jeon will do what has to be done, even if it scares us, right?" Wonwoo says and he hears his mom laugh softly.

_ "Especially if it scares us." _ His mother finishes and Wonwoo smiles. He turns, leans his lower back on the railing, and stares at the door to their room.

"Don't you think it's a little funny that dad was the one who came up with it." Wonwoo says and he hears his mom sigh.

_ "Your father meant every word." _ He can sense the hint of coldness in her voice. Not really because the topic was about his dad but because Wonwoo was talking about him in a negative way again. 

"He was a hypocrite, then?" Wonwoo says before he can think about it and he regrets it immediately.

_ "Wonwoo, is this what this is about?" _ He feels terrible for making his mom frustrated over this again. But that's not what where he was going with this.

"No, sorry. I just..." Wonwoo trails off. He can't really word it out well so he just lets the silence speaks for itself. 

_ "I know, I know. We talked about this before Wonwoo." _ Wonwoo sighs.

_ "Well, I talked about it and you ignored me because you thought it was unnecessary." _ His mom says and Wonwoo feels his shoulder tense up.

"It was. It is. I'm fine, mom." Wonwoo argues and his mom laughs softly.

_ "You know, you can only say That  _ 'I'm fine'  _ to your mom so much before she figures out when things are actually fine and when things aren't." _ His mom says and Wonwoo smiles.

"I know. And I'm telling you I am fine. I was just a bit caught up in the moment, i guess? I don't know." Wonwoo says and he hears nothing from his mom for a second.

_ "Is this the part where I pretend to believe you and then we end the call and I worry about you the whole time until you update me again?" _

"Mom."

_ "What? You can be sarcastic but i can't?" _ She laughs and Wonwoo laughs along.

"Well, like I was saying, I remembered that and everything felt better, in a way. You kept telling us that line and for the first time i feel like i finally got it." Wonwoo explains.

_ "Really?" _

"Yeah. And uh... I'm with Seungcheol now. We're not boyfriends yet but we're together." Wonwoo explains and he hears his mom sigh.

_ "That's wonderful, then. He's a really nice guy, Wonwoo."  _

"He is, and i feel like i would've went home months ago if it weren't for him, really." Wonwoo confesses and his mom laughs.

_ "When you said you finally understood it, what did you mean? What's something that has to be done now?" _

"I don't really know? I feel like going to class is one of them. Asking Seungcheol to be my boyfriend. Telling you about Seungcheol. Making sure I don't fail so you can brag about me to your friends." The last one made her laugh.

_ "I am always bragging about you and college is honestly the least of your achievements. Okay? Just do your best and I'll be the proudest mom, ever. Honestly, you and your brother need to rest." _

"Is he doing okay?"

_ "I come home with food and he does his homework on the table while I eat. He's been at home every Sunday since class and honestly i am a little scared." _ His mom says and Wonwoo laughs.

"Taehyung asked him out, apparently." Wonwoo says and his mom laughs.

_ "Oh,  _ i've heard _ . Don't worry about us, honey. We're fine. You look after yourself there and don't make Seungcheol worry about you so much."  _ His mom says and wonwoo laughs at the tired tone she uses. So maybe he was saved from the never ending rants because someone was taking the bullet for him.

"Well, how about this," Wonwoo says and just then, Seungcheol opens the door with a towel on his head and he smiles at Wonwoo, "I'll call you or send you a message when I'm fine fine?"

_ "Sure hun." _

"Alright, alright. I'm gonna go now. I love you mom."

_ "Love you too baby. Take care of yourself, okay?" _ Wonwoo then says one last "Okay" and waits for his mom to end the call.

_ "Oh, and Wonwoo?" _ His mom says and Wonwoo stares at Seungcheol as he listens to his mom.

_ "They're not like him, okay? None of them are."  _ His mom says and Wonwoo feel feels his heart stop. His mom then says one last  _ 'I love you' _ before ending the call. Wonwoo stares at Seungcheol still by the doorway and the elder smiles at him. Seungcheol then goes out and pulls him back inside and pushes him into the bathroom just so he would wash up and as quickly as he can and they can sleep already. Wonwoo points out that Seungcheol can sleep without him there and Seungcheol gave him a blank look before promptly lying down on Wonwoo's bed. Wonwoo laughs and closes the door.

Fifteen minutes later, with his head dried and a fresh set of clothes on, Wonwoo smiles as he stares at the half asleep Seungcheol on his bed. He slowly climbs in and Seungcheol automatically scoots to the side as Wonwoo settles in and then moves closer when Wonwoo was already lying on his back. Seungcheol then rests his head on Wonwoo's shoulder as he places his arm over Wonwoo's stomach and shifts one leg over Wonwoo's. Wonwoo feels incredibly warm and incredibly tired and he has half a mind to just grab his phone now and message his mom. Because right now, with Seungcheol's sleeping face up on his shirt and his whole body pressed up onto his side, he couldn't be more fine.

  
  
  


\-----

  
  


Wonwoo had been thanking every god he knows by name for a week now because their professor had allowed them to pick their own partners for their final major plate and he only had to share one look with Minghoa for them to agree that they're each other's partners.

They're currently still inside the library, Wonwoo finalizing the floor plans and Minghao doing a sketch of the elevations they talked about earlier. They have two more weeks before passing but both of them decided to finish it as fast as they could so they won't have to cram for finals week. They finished their research paper in under a day and passed it yesterday and the schedule says that their floor plans should be finished on monday but they want to finish it before friday. 

"Wait, Wonwoo. It's almost midnight." Minghao's voice shook him off his focus and Wonwoo felt a bit satisfied first, knowing that he worked for hours already without stopping, but then panics when he realized he hadn't messaged Seungcheol yet. He fumbles for his phone inside his bag and curses when he finds it dead.

"Shit. I forgot to tell anyone I'll be out late."

"Are the head of your dorm really strict?" Minghao asks and Wonwoo's mind sees an image of Johnny and Taeyong waiting for him by their dorms with their arms crossed in front of their chest.

"You could say that, yeah. And Seungcheol's one too, so." Wonwoo says as he packs his stuff away as soon as he can.

"Leave that, I'll take them home anyways." Mignhao says when Wonwoo was trying to pack up the floor plans and he smiels at Minghao.

"I'm really sorry. But I'll finish them tomorrow on my break. Message me when you get to your dorm, okay?" Minghao nods with a smile and Wonwoo sprints out of the library. 

It took Wonwoo fifteen minutes to get back to their dorms and, as expected, Johnny and Taeyong were in their room. Wonwoo just smiles as they all gave him pointed looks and he raised his hands in surrender before stepping in their room.

"I'm sorry, my phone died and I didn't realize how late it was." Wonwoo says and Taeyong and Johnny just sighs. Taeyong gave him a light smack on the forehead for being "the dumbest smart person I've ever met" as Johnny just smiled at him before closing the door. 

"Sorry, I panicked when your phone couldn't be reached." Seungcheol says and Wonwoo just smiles.

"I'm sorry for not messaging you earlier. Minghao and I just want to cover as much ground as we can on this project so we won't have to cram for finals." Wonwoo says as he takes a seat on the edge of his bed to untie his shoelaces and kick off his shoes. He lays back down and turns to stare at Seungcheol on his bed. He opens his arms up and smiles and Seungcheol just laughs as he shakes his head no.

"I'm not touching you until you take a bath." Seungcheol says and Wonwoo drops his arms dramatically.

"I was just in the library the whole night." Wonwoo whines and Seungcheol rolls his eyes.

"That's still a really dirty place. You shouldn't be lying down on bed with your clothes, really."

"Oh, so i should've taken them off first?" Wonwoo asks and Seungcheol rolls his eyes again.

"Flirt all you want, you're not getting a hug until you shower." Seungcheol says and then lays back down and pulls the covers over his head. 

Wonwoo then stands up, makes sure that he sighs dramatically for at least a dozen times while taking out clean clothes till he's inside the bathroom. He takes a quick hot shower and dries off as quickly as he can. He steps out of the bathroom and sees Seungcheol still under his covers so he just turns off the light and settles on his bed. He turns his back to Seungcheol's bed and waits. It took him almost five minutes before Seungcheol eventually crawls on his bed and presses himself on Wonwoo's back. Wonwoo has half a mind to tease the elder but his body relaxes instantly when he feels Seungcheol's lips press a soft kiss on the back of his neck before wrapping his arms around Wonwoo's torso and pulling him closer to his chest. 

Wonwoo ends up waking late the next morning since his phone was left uncharged and still very much so dead inside his bag and he only woke up when Seungcheol came back from his early morning jog. The elder was a bit confused at first but thought Wonwoo just didn't have classes for the morning. But Wonwoo bolted up when Seungcheol told him the time and Wonwoo barely makes it to class and Minghao greets him with an amused smirk on his face. Wonwoo tries hard to glare at the younger but he ends up flushing even more when Minghao points out that his shirt was inside out. Wonwoo just zips up Seungcheol's hoodie and tries to focus on the lecture. 

  
  
  
  


The following week is basically Wonwoo and Minghao meeting up every single second that they can.

From him popping up at lunch to ask Wonwoo something or to tell Wonwoo a detail that he has to add. From the two of them staying in the library for an extra hour or two after Wonwoo's discussion room schedule. And even extends to them eating afterwards so they can discuss their plate over food. Wonwoo was glad they were back to normal again, back to them being friends again. But something Chungha said the day before had him thinking.

So he brings it up to Soonyoung while they're out for lunch that Saturday.

"Hey, Soon?" Wonwoo asks. Soonyung stops mid chew and stares at Wonwoo. 

"Yeah?"

"Do you think Minghao still likes me?" Wonwoo asks and Soonyoung promptly chokes on his food and slams his hand down on the table. A few people turn to look at them and Wonwoo rolls his eyes as Soonyoung coughs and tries to swallow.

" _ What the hell? _ " Soonyoung says right after drinking.

"What? I'm just asking." Wonwoo says and Soonyoung attempts a glare. 

"And?"

"Just fucking answer." Wonwoo says and Soonyoung gave him another attempt of a glare. Or an angry pout? Wonwoo's not sure.

"I'm not gonna fucking answer that. What the hell even brought this on?" Soonyoung asks and Wonwoo shrugs

"Chungha." Wonwoo says and Soonyoung sighs.

"I told her not to say anything." Soonyoung says and Wonwoo stares.

"Anything?"

"Look, we do think that maybe Minghao still likes you. And, you know, spending all that time with you may not help him get over you. I told her not to say shit because, well, you're you." Soonyoung says and Wonwoo scoffs. 

"What does that mean?" Wonwoo asks and Soonyoung just stares back at him.

"It means you lived with Seungcheol for months and you didn't even think about him liking you." Soonyoung says and Wonwoo does see what he means.

"If you so much as think about cheating on Seungcheol I'll shove a dozen pairs of chopsticks in your dick." Soonyoung threatens and Wonwoo glares at him.

"First of all. We're not  _ technically _ together. And secondly, fuck you. I'm not that kind of person." Wonwoo says and Soonyoung gave him a leveling gaze.

"You're telling me i got a boyfriend before you?" Soonyoung says and Wonwoo was about to retort back when he realizes what he just said.

"Wait... You and Mingyu? Finally?" Wonwoo asks and Soonyoung smiles down on his plate.

"Yeah. Just a few days ago." Soonyoung says with a smile but then shakes his head and scowls at Wonwoo.

"But we're getting off topic here. You and Seungcheol are still, like, not official? Really?" 

"That's not the topic here, the topic is Minghao." 

"Oh no. Let me get this straight. You two sleep in one bed everynight, have done various of sex stuff before, have gone out on cheesey dates, and he brings you food he makes and you call him everyday on the way to library, have matching bracelets and rings, yeah i noticed, I'm not blind  _ nor _ stupid, and you're telling me that you two are still not official?" Soonyoung says and Wonwoo frowns.

Yah, they act like a couple, and yeah, maybe Wonwoo sees them as a couple already. But they technically aren't. They're both exclusive though. That one's for sure. But the two of them haven't really talked about anything regarding their relationship because nothing's wrong with it, really.

"Is that bad? I mean, you guys see how we are. A label won't change shit." Wonwoo says confidently and he hopes it's not just the fake kind of confidence he usually uses in presenting in front of class.

"Wonwoo, labels aren't just for, like, bragging rights, or something. You guys are doing great, i know. We all know. But a label is there to give you guys boundaries. Like, it comes with this assurance and stuff like that. I don't know. I'm probably not the best candidate to tell you about this." Wonwoo sighs as Soonyoung finishes and he shrugs.

"Well, I did ask him to be my boyfriend." Wonwoo says and Soonyoung chokes again.

"And?" Soonyoung asks when he swallows and Wonwoo shrugs.

"I told him not to say yes, right after." Wonwoo says and Soonyoung's face contorts into confusion and then it looks like he's in pain? 

"What? Are you serious?" Soonyoung asks, a bit louder than he needed to be and Wonwoo throws a crumpled napkin to his face.

"Look, it was during that night in Yuta's place. Back on Jihoon's birthday. I didn't want to like, have that overlap with Jihoon's birthday." Wonwoo says and Soonyoung laughs.

" _ Wow _ . You are an actual dork." Soonyoung says and Wonwoo rolls his eyes.

"Did he say yes, though?" Soonyoung asks and Wonwoo shakes his head no.

"I'm sure he'll say yes before the semester ends." Soonyoung says and Wonwoo shrugs.

"Should I not ask again? Or do I, like, do it over?" Wonwoo asks and Soonyoung just stares.

"I don't know?"

"What did Mingyu do when he asked you?" Wonwoo asked and Soonyoung was about to say something when he stops himself and frowns at Wonwoo.

"Why are you assuming that he asked me out. I could've asked him out." Soonyoung defends and Wonwoo just gave him a blank look.

"But you didn't." Wonwoo says and Soonyoung's shoulder sags.

"No, I didn't." Soonyoung pouts and Wonwoo smiles.

"Well, we were staying in his dorm and watching this movie and in the middle of it we just decided to make food and in the middle of it and he asked. I said yes."

"Then you had sex." Wonwoo says and Soonyoung started blushing. 

"Just be careful. Safe sex and all that." Wonwoo says and Soonyoung runs a hand over his face.

"Please  _ stop _ ." Soonyoung pleaded which obviously, just made Wonwoo keep going.

"What, I'm just saying. I mean, I'm sure Mingyu's clean and all but you should still wear a-"

"Oh my God,  _ Wonwoo! _ Please stop!" Soonyoung says and Wonwoo smiles innocently.

"So you  _ are _ the top. Knew it." Wonwoo says and Soonyoung covers his face with his hands.

"Are you serious right now?" Soonyoung says and Wonwoo smiles.

"What? Everyone thought you'd be the bottom  _ except _ for me. And you just confirmed that everyone else was wrong." Wonwoo says and Soonyoung just leans back in his chair and groans into his hands.

That afternoon Wonwoo broke the news to Doyoung in the library and Doyoung was still not convinced to the point that he was about to walk up to Mingyu and ask him himself. And if it weren't for Soonyoung suddenly popping up from nowhere, Wonwoo was sure Doyoung would've. They spent the entire afternoon there and only went back to their dorm when Johnny asked everyone out for dinner.

  
  


Dinner was back in the diner a few minutes walk from their campus. The same diner where they all ate for the first time. Wonwoo was walking with Jihoon seeing as Seungcheol was still on his way from somewhere and Hansol said he'll catch up right after he submitted his output for one class. Jihoon was apparently done with all the final outputs for this sem and all he's got to do is take three exams the following week for hsi minor subjects. Which Wonwoo could relate to but Minghao still hasn't updated on the final output for their design class, but other than that, everything was submitted and all he has to do next week is take 3 exams.

Seungcheol managed to walk into the room with Hansol as soon as everyone was seated on their tables. Johnny thought it would be fun to group themselves the same way as before and Wonwoo smiles as Soonyoung immediately throws an arm over his shoulder and then drags him next to Taeyong. Wonwoo watches as Seungcheol scans the room and smiles when he sees him. He pulls Hansol in by his wrist and headed straight for their table.

"Your table is right over there. With Ten and Kun. Shoo." Taeyong says and Wonwoo just watches as Seungcheol frowns.

"I'm just saying hi." Seungcheol says and he smiles when he turns to Wonwoo. 

"Sorry i was late. I had to put out a small kitchen fire." Seungcheol says and Wonwoo panics.

"A fire?"

"Yeah, it's okay. I'll tell you about it later." Seungcheol says. He smiles and walks over to their table and Wonwoo sees Hansol already seated next to Jihoon. 

It was a really fun night. Soonyoung and Taeyong kept talking about Wonwoo throughout the semester and Wonwoo laughs along with embarrassment. The time he got sick, the time he thought Taeyong and Seungcheol were a thing, the 'fight', 'straight' Wonwoo and then 'asexual' Wonwoo. Taeyong mentions something about how some people can only be sexually attracted to someone else if they know that person. Wonwoo then turns to Seungcheol, he was mid laugh with his head thrown back as Kun and Ten laughs along. Wonwoo's mind goes back to the start of the semester, and then goes back to now. He laughs at how maybe Taeyong's right. Or maybe Wonwoo had always found Seungcheol attractive even before he knew him the way that he knows him now.

But honestly, who cares? 

Wonwoo is with someone who appreciates him and someone who likes him and that's already way more than what he needs. So he lets Soonyoung sidetrack the conversation to tigers as Wonwoo steals as much glances as he can towards Seungcheol's table without getting caught. 

  
  


Wonwoo had just finished his last exam and he walks all the way back to their room blankly. That one message just flashing through his mind the entire walk and Wonwoo's not sure if it's a sign. 

Well, he's sure it's a sign but he's not sure if it's a sign to stay or not.

Right after his exam, he sees a bunch of missed calls from Jeonghan. He messaged him as soon as he left the room and Jeonghan sent him one message. 

  
  


**Jeonghannie**

** _I'm not gonna be cominig home for christmas. But I'll be home before new years. _ **

** _What about you?_ **

  
  


And now Wonwoo feels like this is a sign that maybe he could stay for christmas and just go home with Jeonghan. Or maybe this is a sign that he has to go home for christmas because now Jeonghan won't even be home and Wonwoo's not sure how Seokmin would feel if the both of them can't make it for christmas. Plus, Wonwoo's been thinking about christmas dinner back at home and he'd honestly never forgive himself if he does end up missing it. 

"Hey, you okay?" Wonwoo shakes his head and turns to where Jun's voice was coming from. 

"I'm about to head out. You've been staring at your door knob for like, a minute, now. You good?" Jun asks and Wonwoo smiles and nods.

"I think my last exam fried my brain. Or melted it, i don't know." Wonwoo jokes, pulling out his key from his pocket. Jun laughs.

"Well, I'm gonna go now. Wish me luck!" Jun says and he runs down the stairs. Wonwoo waves goodbye with a smile before turning around and letting himself in.

He drops his bag, toes off his shoes, takes off his hoodie and pants, and tucks himself in his bed. His shirt and boxers were cool enough for Wonwoo to wrap himself in his blanket before turning to his side and closing his eyes.

Then he opens his eyes and sees Seungcheol's bed. 

  
  


He really wants to spend more time with Seungcheol. As much time as he can. But he can't force him into going home with him and he isn't about to ditch his family for his friends. Yeah, he's sure his family would be okay if Wonwoo ever did decide to stay for break but Wonwoo's not sure if that's actually a good thing to do. If that's the right thing to do. 

Wonwoo turns and lies back on his back and sighs. He pulls the sheets off of him, throws his legs over at the edge of the bed, and makes his way over to Seungcheol's bed. He lies on his side, facing his own bed, and takes a deep breath. 

  
  


This is even more frustrating because he knows everyone would 'understand'.

  
  


If he asks his mom if he could stay here for a week longer, she'd understand.

She's understand and tell him to stay safe and to call as much as he can. Then she'll keep asking for updates, keep checking in on him as much as she can and Wonwoo would let her because it's what she does best. Taking care of people is what she does best.

If he tells Seungcheol he's sorry and that he really did want to stay, he'd say he understands.

He'd say he understands how much Wonwoo misses his family. Then Wonwoo would end up calling him every chance he gets and he would answer every call from Seungcheol every chance he gets. They'd probably video call whenever they eat at the same time or just whenever they can and Wonwoo would pretend that Seungcheol's orchestrating the whole thing.

So, yeah.

_ That. _

Wonwoo groans and buries his face on Seungcheol's pillow. Then he closes his eyes, takes a deep breath, and lets the warmth of their room lull him to a well-deserved sleep all the while he repeats four words over and over again in his head.

  
  


"Everything's gonna be fine."

  
  


Wonwoo wakes up hugging something close to him and he opens his eyes to find that his glasses were gone. His first instinct was to reach up for his face to check if they really are gone and he hears a familiar snort from above his head.

"I put them away. You should stop sleeping with your glasses on, you know. They could break when you turn or something." Seungcheol's voice rings above his head and he looks up to see that he was hugging Seungcheol's stomach as he leans his head up on his pillows next to Wonwoo, reading something.

"Hey." Wonwoo says belatedly and he flops back down and just buries his face onto Seungcheol's side.

"Mind telling me why you're invading my bed?" Seungcheol asks and Wonwoo groans.

"I still don't talk zombie." Seungcheol says and Wonwoo huffs. He then slowly crawls on top of Seungcheol and lays his head right under Seungcheol's notebook, he was just a few inches off to Seungcheol's heart. Seungcheol then folds his legs to the side, caging Wonwoo's lower body in between Seungcheol's legs and Wonwoo just lets him.

"Just feeling tired," Wonwoo argues and Seungcheol taps his head softly with his notebook.

"If you're tired then go sleep on your own bed." Seungcheol says and Wonwoo groans.

"Come on, then. Go sleep." Seungcheol says and Wonwoo sighs.

"But it's cold." Wonwoo complains, grabbing Seungcheol's notebook and pulling it down on the bed behind him. He rests his head on Seungcheol's chest again and he could hear his heart beating through his shirt.

"Sounds like a you problem." Seungcheol says and Wonwoo looks up to see him smiling.

"Fine then." Wonwoo says, pushing himself off of the elder and Seungcheol laughing as he pulls Wonwoo down and wraps his arms around him. 

Wonwoo moved up now, his face right over Seungcheol's neck as Seungcheol's hands were on Wonwoo's lower back. Wonwoo has to admit that he's gonna miss this too. Maybe he should put the blame entirely on Seungcheol for making him clingy even though Wonwoo's pretty sure he's not all to blame in that. 

"I can almost hear you thinking, you know?" Seungcheol says right over his ear and Wonwoo laughs.

"Yeah? What was I thinking?" Wonwoo asks and Seungcheol humms.

"Something about curveballs?" Seungcheol says and Wonwoo laughs.

"Close." Wonwoo says and he pushes his upper body up and gave Seungcheol a kiss.

"I'm studying." Seungcheol whines, pushing away Wonwoo's shoulders and Wonwoo leans in for one last kiss. They settled back to their position, Seungcheol grabbing for his notebook while Wonwoo buries his face on Seungcheol's neck. Wonwoo fell asleep again eventually and Seungcheol only woke him up an hour later for them to get dinner and also so that Seungcheol could get up and go to the bathroom. Wonwoo laughs at Seungcheol but he's honestly touched that he held it in for a while just so Wonwoo could sleep. I mean, what else could you look for in a man, right?

Wonwoo stirs awake way into the night, when they both have finished eating and have moved to Wonwoo's bed. He hears Seungcheol call out to him softly and Wonwoo hums, eyes still closed as he feels Seungcheol's fingers playing with the collar of his shirt. 

"Remember back in Yuta's place? Way back to Jihoon's birthday?" Seungcheol asks and Wonwoo peaks an eye open to see Seungcheol staring at him. Wonwoo nods and Seungcheol scoots closer so their faces were just a few inches away. Wonwoo nods and he let his nose touch Seungcheol's as he did. 

"Remember what you asked me that day?" Seungcheol asks. Wonwoo looks down at Seungcheol's mouth. He was gnawing at his lower lip softly and Wonwoo smiles.

"I remember." Wonwoo says and Seungcheol stops playing with his shirt and started dragging his fingers on Wonwoo's skin right above the collar.

"Well, I think I wanna say yes." Seungcheol says and Wonwoo smiles wider.

"Okay." Wonwoo says softly and Seungcheol snorts.

"I  _ am _ saying yes." Seungcheol says and Wonwoo smiles.

"Thanks." Wonwoo says out loud before he could think about it and Seungcheol laughs softly.

"I say yes and you say thanks?" Seungcheol asks, hitting Wonwoo's chest softly and Wonwoo laughs, he pulls Seungcheol closer by his waist and he leans his head closer for a quick kiss.

"Was that better?" Wonwoo asks as he pulls away and Seungcheol nods before leaning in for another kiss. 

Seungcheol then squirms and slots his arm under Wonwoo's neck and wraps his arms around his head so his hands could play with Wonwoo's hair. Seungcheol moved up a bit because of this and Wonwoo took advantage of their new position and places gentle kisses on Seungcheol's neck before saying goodnight.

They fell asleep like that. Flushed close, together, without even an inch of space in between them. Their legs entangled with each other, Wonwoo's hands moving under Seungcheol's shirt, feeling his soft skin on his palms, as one of Seungcheol's arm was draped around his shoulder and the other hand was carded through his hair.

  
  


Wonwoo fell asleep warmer than he had ever felt before. 

  
  


The next morning Wonwoo wakes up right as Seungcheol comes in from his morning jog.

Again, Wonwoo's still convinced that people who exercise as religiously as Seungcheol have their whole life in complete control. Also Wonwoo still think they don't actually exist.

When Seungcheol went in for his morning shower, Wonwoo started packing his stuff right after turning down Seungcheol's offer of showering together. Today was Seungcheol's last day of exams but Wonwoo already made plans for the day. He's gonna spend the day with Chungha and a few of the dance crew she had created and then sleep over at her place again. This time Wonwoo's bringing Hansol since Chungha already invited Soonyoung over as well. Wonwoo wasn't sure if he had to ask Jihoon for permission but he did tell Johnny about it before asking Hansol and All he said was to make sure they were safe. They all knew Chungha so no red flags there.

Wonwoo finished packing his overnight stuff right as Seungcheol opened the door and comes out with just a towel around his waist. Wonwoo turns and stares him up and down and sees Seungcheol's grin when he comes back to look at his face.

"I did say you could join me." Seungcheol said walking up to Wonwoo and pushing him gently until he was walking back to his bed. He sits down and stares as Seungcheol climbs up his lap, one leg one either side of his waist, and he feels the damp towel leave a trail of goosebumps on his skin as Seungcheol moves closer and takes his head in his hands before kissing him. Wonwoo finds his hands almost automatically move up Seungcheol's thighs, under the towel and Seungcheol gasps into their kiss as Wonwoo's hand reaches his ass.

"Is it too late to join you, then?" Wonwoo asks and Seungcheol smiled. He kisses down to Wonwoo's chin and onto his jaw. open mouthed kisses that were hot but immediately turns cold as soon as Seungcheol's lips leave his skin. And right as he was over Wonwoo's ears, he stopped. Wonwoo could hear him breathing and Wonwoo moves his hands down Seungcheol's thigh. But he stops midway when Seungcheol says, "Yes." 

Seungcheol then pulls away, smiles the most innocent smile he has as he runs his hand down Wonwoo's front and right over his now painfully obvious boner under his boxers, before crawling off of his lap and then going to his closet to get clothes.

"You should probably get ready if you don't want to be late. You're meeting up with Chungha and the others right? I'll call if I can make it for lunch later." Seungcheol says, wearing his underwear under the towel before untying it and wearing his jeans. His very fit, skin tight jeans. 

"I'm gonna head over at the library for now and study with a few people from my class." Seungcheol then grabs a loose gray shirt and pulls it over his shirt before reaching for his jacket and grabbing his bag. He turns around, walks around his bed and sits at the edge of it, right in front of Wonwoo, as he puts on his socks and shoes.

"Are you serious?" Wonwoo asks. Seungcheol looks up at him and smiles wider.

"What? Your boyfriend's about to be late." Seungcheol says and Wonwoo laughs.

"My boyfriend's a demon sent from hell." Wonwoo says. Seungcheol then wears his jacket and then his bag before turning and facing Wonwoo. 

Then in one swift move he kneels on Wonwoo's bed, one knee on the other side of his left leg and the other gently pressing on his dick. Wonwoo lets out a gasp and Seungcheol just smiled down at him. He then pressed his knees a bit harder, putting more pressure on it without it actually hurting as he kisses Wonwoo and Wonwoo's hands gripped on Seungcheol's waist, stopping him as Seungcheol smiles into the kiss. 

"Don't miss your evil boyfriend too much tonight." Seungcheol says and he crawls back and kisses Wonwoo one last time.

"I can't believe you." Wonwoo blurts out and Seungcheol laughs. 

"Go get ready! Chungha's probably not gonna want you being late." Seungcheol said as he walks towards the door. 

"See you at lunch!" Wonwoo calls out as Seungcheol got out. 

Wonwoo then looks down at his now painfully hard dick and he regrets not joining Seungcheol in the showers earlier.

  
  


The day went on... well, let's just say it's one of the longest days he's ever experienced and he hates physically fit dancers that have great stamina with a burning passion.

Breakfast was fine, it was just with Chungha and Soonyoung anyways. Hansol said he'll join them after lunch so Wonwoo told him to call when he's free to go. Wonwoo then asks Chungha what her plan was for the day and, well, apparently her plan was basically to throw a kids party in her place. But there are no kids and there's gonna be alcohol involved.

Wonwoo stares for a few seconds and then nods.

It's actually a pretty great plan. 

So Chungha asked everyone to meet up around ten in front of the supermarket in town and Soonyoung drove the five of them there with Chungha riding shotgun and Wonwoo sitting in the middle of the back seat next to Jun and Ten. They got there a few minutes after ten and Wonwoo smiles when Chungha says they're all already inside. When they got inside Chungha introduced everyone one by one again even though she had already down this before but Wonwoo let's her because he can't remember them all anyways. Tall, smiley dude is Seungyeon, smiley dude that isn't that tall is Rocky? Wonwoo forgot his real name but they all call him Rocky anyways. Then the big intimidating dude who's really nice is Shownu. Also a stage name, Wonwoo remembers, but Chungha says he likes it better. 

The girls were a bit harder to remember. But still easy nonetheless.

Eunbi he knows because of Soonyoung and his incessant cries that they are related, Seulgi he remember also because of Soonyoung but now it's because he says Wonwoo's her brother. Seulgi laughs along when Soonyoung first told them that and Wonwoo covers Soonyoung's mouth as soon as he could. Wonwoo could see the resemblance, really. But Soonyoung needs to stop with this sibling business as soon as possible. The two other girls are Jihyo and Momo. Jihyo was as bright and loud as Chungha and now Wonwoo can see how different everyone was outside the studio. 

Everyone had split up to buy different stuff, drinks, food, snacks, and Wonwoo begs Chungha not to put him in a group with Soonyoung but she just smiled and said she needs him to make sure they actually buy snacks they can eat. Wonwoo glares at her as Soonyoung drags him away and Chungha just smiled and waved.

It took them less than an hour to get everything and Wonwoo's glad Ten was at least not as insanely loud as the rest as they haul a bunch of chips and other stuff food they think would be great for their party. Jun was pushing the cart along with Shownu as Soonyoung, Rocky, and Seungyoun walks on ahead and inspect every rack before picking out two or three bags each and putting them in the cart. Wonwoo and Ten walks next to Jun and just puts back a few things that were doubling in the cart. By the end of it, the cart was full of packaged, processed food and chips and another smaller basket filled with marshmallows for some reason. They met with Chungha and the rest by the counters and she pushes everyone on the other side as they pack everything on paper bags and she pays for everything. Wonwoo sees a bunch of frozen pizzas and imagines Seungcheol's frown of disapproval at the 'fake microwavable stuff that's barely food', making him smile. 

They pile out of the market with two whole carts filled with paper bags and they split up into three groups, Seulgi's car with all the girls, Soonyoung's car with Chungha, and Seungyeon's car with the rest of the guys. Some of them still have classes and exams so they decide to meet up in Chungha's place after lunch. 

  
  
  
  


Wonwoo checks the time on his phone and he sees that it's almost two in the morning and that his phone is almost dead. He gets out of the bathroom, drying his hair, and sees Chungha and Hansol talking on the sofa that's pulled out into a bed. Both were already wearing comfortable clothes for sleeping and Wonwoo looks around to see Soonyoung in the kitchen, his back to him as he stood in front of the stove.

"What are you doing?" Wonwoo asks and Soonyoung turns to smile.

"Hot chocolate. Mingyu taught me how to make them from scratch." Soonyoung says and Wonwoo smirks. Soonyoung rolls his eyes and turns to face the stove again.

"Shut up." Soonyoung says and Wonwoo laughs.

"I didn't say anything!" Wonwoo defends and Soonyoung throws the crumpled chocolate wrapper at him, making him laugh harder.

"Stop bothering Soonyoung." Chungha says from the couch and Wonwoo sees the two of them smiling at him. Wonwoo makes his way towards them, hanging his towel at the back of the chair in the table. 

"No one else sleeping over?" Wonwoo asks, crawling next to Hansol. 

"Nope. Some still have to pack for the break and some have something to submit or something to do tomorrow. And some just have boyfriends they have to go home to." Chungha says, then she makes a gagging sound that has Hansol laughing out loud.

"Not to judge you or anything, but, uh you're literally the only one in this room who doesn't have a boyfriend." Wonwoo adds and Hansol blushes almost immediately, hitting Wonwoo with a pillow.

"No way! Oh my God, who is it? Do i know them?" Chungha asks as he grabs Hansol's hand and Hansol ducks down. Wonwoo's pretty sure Chungha knows already but he doesn't say anything as he lies down.

"Yeah. You know Jihoon?" Hansol says and Chungha gasps realistically. Wonwoo could almost laugh.

"No way! Dude! Lee Jihoon? You're going out with Grumpy? Oh wow!" Chungha says and Hansol laughs. 

"Don't tell him I called him Grumpy from Snow White." Chungha says immediately with a scared look on her face and Wonwoo laughs.

"I thought you were just calling him grumpy but  _ that's _ better!" Wonwoo laughs as he hears Soonyoung's laugh. 

Soonyoung then comes to the couch with a tray of four mugs of hot chocolate. Wonwoo and Hansol sitting next to each other facing Chungha and Soonyoung sitting on the edge between Chungha and Hansol. Their talk turns from their friends to their class, to their break, and to their families. Then to their upcoming sem break.

Which puts Wonwoo on the spot.

"What?" Soonyoung asks after Wonwoo says it and Wonwoo shrugs.

"I don't know, okay. I really wanna go home, obviously, but I kinda wanna stay with Seungcheol, too. So I'm not sure..." Wonwoo finishes. He takes a sip of the hot chocolate to give himself something to do and he feels Hansol scoot closer to his side.

"I think whatever you do is okay. Like, there's no wrong move here, you know? You could stay and your family would understand. You could go home and Seungcheol will be okay with the others here." Hansol says and Wonwoo smiles at him. 

"Who else are staying anyways?" Chungha asks.

"Yuta, Johnny, Cheol, and Ten. Kun and Jun decided to go home for break just last week. And I think Taeyong will stay for Christmas and then go home for new years? Or the other way around, I'm not sure." Soonyoung says and Wonwoo nods. 

"So he won't be completely alone here." Chungha says and Wonwoo nods.

"They actually planned for this since last year's break." Wonwoo says and he sees Chungha smile knowingly.

"What?" Wonwoo asks and Chungha shrugs and then sips her drink.

"It just seems like maybe you have distance issues and now you're caught between two places you call home." Chungha says and Wonwoo feels himself blush. 

"Or that could be wrong. I could be wrong." Chungha says with a smug look on her face and Wonwoo groans. 

"Sure." Hansol says next to Wonwoo and Wonwoo glares at him as Hansol just smiles at him. 

Soonyoung then redirects their conversation to his plans for the break and Wonwoo feels bad that his mind was somewhere else. He rethinks everything he's done the entire semester. Every break down, every sigh of relief, every bad day, and every good day. He thinks about how in all of those times he would usually tell his mom as soon as he could. Or message Jungkook about it. Or message Jeonghan and Seokmin. 

He realizes now how far he'd strayed from his life before college and it derails him. Before, he couldn't even think about buying a shirt without telling Jeonghan or showing Seokmin and here he is now, realizing he hasn't talked to either of them for at least a few weeks now. Maybe even a month already. The last he talked to his mom was when she called about making sure he packed everything alright for when he comes home and that was before finals week. 

The realization dawned on him heavier than anything had ever had and it scares him so much. 

So there he was, lying down in between Hansol and Soonyoung on the sofa bed, wide awake at four in the morning as he re-evaluates his life. He then pulls his phone from under his pillow, types three simple words, and sends them to four different people. He figured that none of them would be awake at this time but he smiles when he sees one reply not even a minute after he hit send. He rereads it a couple of times, smiling to himself, and decides to send something back.

**Jeonghannie**

** _miss u 2 <3_ **

** _but just know that your chirstmas gift is a 'Worlds Best Grandma' mug since all of us agreed that we dont know a Wonwoo december started_ **

** _ALSO _ **

** _WHAT R U DOING UP?!?! YOU SHOULDE BE ASLEEP!! _ **

Wonwoo chuckles at the grumpy emojis filling half of his phone screen and he types in his respond.

**Me: **

** _sleep over :P_ **

** _and i love mugs? this is a win for me_ **

** _also i thought about what u said_ **

** _about going home_ **

** _i'll call you later. take care and dont over work yourself <3_ **

  
  
  


The next morning, Wonwoo felt lighter waking up to a few messages on his phone. Jungkook telling him he's applying to his university just so he can kick his ass whenever he wants, Seokmin saying the same, that he did apply as well, but he says so it's so he's closer to Jeonghan. And also saying he doesn't know anyone named Wonwoo since December. And a few message from his mom asking him about when he was coming home and what time it would be and what time he'd arrive home. 

So he sends her his response and calls Jeonghan when all four of them walk on back to campus. They set up a plan to leave their bags in their rooms and have breakfast in Mr. Jung's cafe so of course it ended up with Wonwoo and Hansol dragging their half awake boyfriends along as Soonyoung calls Mingyu to meet them there. Chungha was complaining the entire walk over and everyone just lets her. Wonwoo promised to buy her a muffin to shut her up when they get there and Chungha gladly accepts the offer. 

Their breakfast was chaotic and loud, as expected. Jaehyun thanks them for being so since now he doesn't need his daily dose of caffeine to wake himself up, saying that he's wide awake now from all the screaming they dd at nine in the morning. Mingyu comes in just as he was serving their orders and he is absolutely in love with the place. Chungha complains about how Mingyu is babying Soonyoung and how Jihoon and Hansol are talking in whispers and how Seungcheol is clinging onto Wonwoo so Wonwoo buys her the promised muffin minus the shoving it down her throat. 

Wonwoo ordered a few more things right as they were finishing and asks Jaehyun to put them on take out. When they were on their way out, Wonwoo walks up to the counter to get the food and to pay when Mr. Jung comes in. 

"Oh, my. Are you on your way out already?" Mr. Jung asks and Wonwoo smiles and nods.

"We just finished breakfast and this is gonna be lunch. Staying in for the day." Wonwoo holds up the bags and Mr. Jung smiles at him. 

"Break's starting next week so don't forget to pass by before going home, alright?" Mr. Jung says and Wonwoo nods.

"I'll have to buy a few things to bring to my mom so she'll know why i got fat this semester." Wonwoo says and Mr. Jung laughs heartily.

"Gramps, come on, you're holding him up." Jaehyun says as Mr. Jung goes behind the counter and Jaehyun points towards the door. 

"Your baby's about to start crying so you better go. See you later." Wonwoo turns to see Seungcheol staring at him through the window with a pout on his face as the rest of their friends starts walking on. 

Wonwoo then thanks them for everything and jogs to the door. He goes out, holds Seungcheol's hand, and drags him forward as they run after everyone else.

  
  


Wonwoo then tells Seungcheol his plans for the day. 

-watch something the whole morning

-lunch

-continue watching

-go out to buy more food(including dinner)

-talk about the break

-make out

-shower

-make out in the shower

-bed(may include making out)

  
  


And Seungcheol completely ignores it. 

  
  


The minute they got in their room, he had Wonwoo pinned on the door. He grabs for the plastic bag in his hand and sets it down on the floor by the door as he pulls Wonwoo back, still kissing, as they blindly make their way to Wonwoo's bed, and Seungcheol pulls Wonwoo on top of him without breaking the kiss even once. And then Seungcheol tells Wonwoo what he did the night before, when he was lonely, and cold, and alone, in Wonwoo's bed, wearing Wonwoo's huge shirt and nothing more. And he tells it in so much details in between kisses that by the time he was done, Wonwoo's hard on was trying to burst out of his pant's zipper as he grips on Seungcheol's waist.

  
  
  


They finished their shower around half past one and Wonwoo heats up their food in Seungcheol's microwave wearing one of Seungcheol's shirts and his own sweatpants as Seungcheol takes his time changing in the bathroom. Seungcheol emerges with his own clothes, for Wonwoo's sake. Not that him wearing a fitted shirt and just boxers was any help to Wonwoo's sanity at all but Wonwoo keeps it to himself and focuses on how Seungcheol's hair curls up around his ears. 

Seungcheol then sets up the table in between their beds and waits for Wonwoo in his bed. Wonwoo heads over with the food and they eat in comfortable silence. Seungcheol would often lean in over Wonwoo's shoulder with his mouth open and Wonwoo feeds him with a fake annoyed expression. After eating, they clean up and settles back on Seuncheol's bed as they agreed on watching something. Seungcheol suggest to watch an anime and Wonwoo turns it down seeing that it's a series and he doesn't want to get too invested in it if they're not gonna finish it in one go.

But that does help when Wonwoo pulls up the list of anime movies he had sent a while back and he added a bunch of emojis under the title to say what the theme is. Wonwoo's still intrigued with 'Guilty Crown' because it looked like Jihoon just keyboard smashed on the emoji keyboard and considered it done. There were swords, ribbons, the robot emoji, a bunch of hearts, a bunch of  _ broken _ hearts, and the last emoji was the eyes emoji. But Wonwoo moves to the one next to it and reads the english title over and over before he searched for it on his laptop. Seungcheol looks with his chin on Wonwoo's shoulder and Wonwoo found it eventually. It was a movie so it would give Wonwoo closure by the end and it's long enough to kill time but not too long that Seungcheol would lose interest by the middle of it. 

Wonwoo then shuffles their position. He sits in between Seungcheol's legs, leaning back on his chest with Seungcheol's head right next to his as he balances the laptop on his thighs. 

The movie was great. And what's more was that it had gay main characters which Wonwoo was honestly shocked about. Seungcheol kept saying that Wonwoo looked like one character and the other looked like a badass, blonde version of Jeonghan. He kept teasing Wonwoo as the movie goes along but eventually stopped when the two characters kissed. Wonwoo, ever the opportunist, took this as his chance to retaliate. Seungcheol was fun to tease since all it took was for Wonwoo to say "You know what. I think he does look like Jeonghan. He had long hair like this around the time we were in highschool. I remember he had to tuck back his hair behind his ears whenever he leaned in to, y'know,  _ talk _ ." and Seungcheol says he doesn't like this movie. Not at all. 

After the movie ended, Wonwoo suggests buying food for later and Seungcheol tells him there was still food in their fridge so they don't have to buy food for at least two days so they can empty the fridge before break starts.

Which leads them to  _ that _ conversation. 

"About the break." Wonwoo starts, he was still on Seungcheol's bed as Seungcheol was standing by the mini fridge.

"I know. Your mom already sent me a guide list of all the things you can not forget. Number three being all of your clothes including all of the twenty pairs of underwear you brought." Seungcheol says with an amused smile on his face.

  
  


Of course.

If Wonwoo was being honest, though, he's not sure if he should thank her or tell her that he actually changed his mind and decided to stay here.

Forever. 

  
  


Wonwoo sighs and lies back down on the bed with his hands in his face.

"It's okay. I'm pretty sure I've seen at least twelve of them. Or seventeen? Remember that one time you weren't wearing-" "Do you wanna go back to our place next year?" Wonwoo cuts him off with the question and Seungcheol looks at him amused.

"What?" he asks as he walks back to bed. 

"Well, you told me about how you guys planned your little, i don't even know what to call it. Sleep over? Temporary live in situation? I don't know. But yeah. I was wondering, maybe, next year you come with me for christmas back to our place and then we go back here for new years..." Wonwoo trails off. Seungcheol was sitting on the edge of the bed by now and he had on this weird looking smile on his face like the kind a dad does when a kid is exaggeratingly telling him about a game he's playing.

"You can say no. I just wanna ask so I don't regret not asking." Wonwoo says and Seungcheol lies down next to him wraps his arms around him. 

"I would love to, Nonu." Wonwoo groans at the stupid name and Seungcheol leans in and kisses the skin under his ear. Wonwoo tries to wiggle out, struggling to free himself, so he just stays still and catches his breath. 

"You don't have to." Wonwoo says and Seungcheol nods.

"I know I don't  _ have _ to. I  _ want _ to. And i really wanna impress your mom with my cooking so I get the Jeon seal of approval." Seungcheol says and Wonwoo snorts.

"Sure. This isn't the 80's, Cheol. I don't need her permission and you don't need her 'blessing' for us to be a thing." Wonwoo says and Seungcheol squeezes him in his arms.

"I know. The seal of approval is for my own egotistical needs." Seungcheol says and Wonwoo laughs.

"So that's your secret. You're body mass is actually forty percent muscle and fifty percent ego." Wonwoo says and he waits for Seungcheol to take the bait.

"What's the other ten in me, then?" Wonwoo thanks all the gods for how Seungcheol worded out out as he smiles before turning to face him.

"Oh, that's gonna be my dick." Wonwoo says and Seungcheol laughs out loud. He lets go of Wonwoo and started hitting his arms softly.

"That was so fucking greasy! Oh my God! Where did you even get that? You know what, I don't want to know." Seungcheol says, rolling away and standing up. Wonwoo sits up and pulls Seungcheol back to bed by the edge of his shirt and Seungcheol smiles as he sits back down and throws one of his legs over Wonwoo's legs, making him sit on his lap. 

"What makes you think I'm a bottom anyways?" Seungcheol asks and Wonwoo gave him a blank look. 

"You want me to list them all down? Right now?" Wonwoo asks and Seungcheol hits the side of his neck with the back of his hand.

"Hey! I'm seriously asking!" Seungcheol says and Wonwoo snorts.

"Well, okay. Uhm, for one, you literally were just under me with my fingers up your ass, begging me to make you cum." Seungcheol blushes at that and Wonwoo smiles as he hits him again.

"Plus, your ass is such a waste for you to be a top. I mean, I'm not an ass type of guy but yours is just a whole new level of ass. I'm kind of jealous that you probably never have been uncomfortable in any seat with that thing cushioning you everywhere." Wonwoo teases. He smiles wider though when Seungcheol blushes even more as he tells him to shut up. 

Wonwoo got to say a few more lines about how round and  _ 'perky' _ Seungcheol's ass was and Wonwoo did end up with Seungcheol trying to kill him with a pillow when Wonwoo said the word 'supple' so Wonwoo thinks they're even now. 

When Wonwoo was finally freed from the pillow, he was lying on his back again with Seungcheol not moved up, sitting on his stomach, with his arms on either side of Wonwoo's head. He was still laughing softly with his cheeks tainted pink and Wonwoo raises a hand to place on Seungcheol's cheek. He was always warm to the touch when his heart is pumping hard, whether it's when he's laughing too hard or when he's whimpering and panting softly under Wonwoo with the same tinted cheeks but with less clothes and less innocence between them. Seungcheol leans in to the touch, always one to soak up physical attention. Wonwoo then smiles up at him and asks him to move a bit as he shuffles around and places two pillows behind him so he can lean back comfortably and he pulls Seungcheol flush to him. 

Wonwoo closes his eyes as Seungcheol wraps his arms around his lower back and rests his chin on Wonwoo's shoulder, resting his head against Wonwoo 's as he hums softly. 

"I like this." Seungcheol says and Wonwoo turns his head a bit to kiss Seungcheol's neck down to his shoulder. 

"Me too." Wonwoo says, his hands moving up and down Seungcheol's sides as he breathes in Seungcheol's scent. He closes his eyes and thinks that, for the first time in a very long time, he's actually fine. 

He can say he's fine and it won't feel like a lie at all. 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I'm not gonna gush about this fic as much as I initially would, but I JUST want to say how happy I am with how everyone reacted to this fic. Especially with people saying they relate to Wonwoo so much with how he handled college because I actually based Wonwoo here from me. 
> 
> I know it's one of those "oh no it's a self insert" fic but honestly, if some of you have been reading my fics, it's usually always with Wonwoo. If the main character isnt Wonwoo, Wonwoo is the other half of the ship or Wonwoo's still a huge part of the fic. 
> 
> I think i'ts because out of all 13 of them, I relate to Wonwoo the most? 
> 
> But this fic is a whole new level for me because now I really did base Wonwoo from my first year in college. (minus the hot, sophomore roommate. Obviously.)  
But the whole feeling detached, questioning everyone who was ever nice to me if they have some ulterior motive, the whole relationship thing. But I did find some people who I did end up trusting and who did help me figure my shit out. 
> 
> And I also did this because when I read college fics it's always about the ship being cute, library dates, sleep overs. But none of the nerve wrecking deadlines, the terror profs, the pressure of your whole future fucking up if you fuck one thing up. And I'm glad that some did point out how they relate to that and IDK but it felt nice. I felt less alone with how I felt in my freshmen year and I'm glad and at the same time, sad, that someone can relate to it. 
> 
> SO TO WRAP THIS UP.  
I WANNA SAY THANK YOU TO EVERYONE WHO HAVE BEEN READING THIS SINCE I POSTED THE FIRST CHAPTER AND I WANNA SAY A THANK YOU TO EVERYONE WHO STARTED READING THIS AFTER ITS BEEN COMPLETED.  
This is officially the longest fic I've ever done. And I can definitely say that this is the most invested I've ever been in writing. Thank you for all the kind comments and kudos and I want to say thank you for giving this socially inept dumbass a chance to have his words be heard lmao. 
> 
> I am obviously not crying as I type this so just yell or send hate on my twitter account I'm still @punk_asswriter
> 
> Again  
Thank you so much for reading! And you didn't hear this from me but I heard this isn't the last of Tasted ;)


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